


Vagabonds and Shelters

by sharkbatez



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 190,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkbatez/pseuds/sharkbatez
Summary: Upon the untimely death of her father, Yang Xiao Long returns to the home she left behind three years ago. With no one else to take responsibility for her younger sister, Ruby, Yang takes her back to her new life in Vale, much to the disapproval of her mother, Raven.Blake Belladonna tries her damned hardest to reclaim her life. She hides in near-anonymity and basks in the safety and assurance of ignorance. As long as she doesn’t attract attention to herself and keeps her head down, she was safe. But hiding proves to be a difficult task when she and Yang Xiao Long, the gossip mongers of Beacon’s favorite topic, keep gravitating towards each other.[RE-UPLOADED AND DISCONTINUED]
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. To Carry On

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is back up and it's backdated. The rest of the beginning notes is optional. 
> 
> First off, I've read some stuff on Tumblr and Twitter about old works that people read even though the writer doesn't like them anymore. I've read some comments and posts that said that, despite its flaws, people found something and I've reflected and found that I, too, have works that I read through even though I know they'll never be finished. I guess because they made me feel something. So, this is back up (after I deleted it before), the really OG one and it's here to stay because this is the Archive!
> 
> If I may explain myself, this fic was meant as a "diary" or reflection piece for **me**. I guess you can say that writing is my passion. It's never felt like something that I should be good at, it was just something that made me happy and I sort of mixed this happy escape with what I was trying to escape from. Lol. And, to be honest, it gave me validation that I never had. It made my feelings real and I guess I wasn't ready for that because I've spent a long time in denial. Death and abuse are very touchy subjects to me and it's never black and white. The older I get, the more it gets clearer, the more confusing it is, but I've learned to be more honest and forthcoming with my thoughts and feelings. It's made a lot of difference. (Thank you, therapy!)
> 
> So, here we are. Lol. Welcome back? At this time, I'm not planning on picking this fic back up again. I've got a few others lined up that I want to explore first. If I do though, I feel as if it'll be drastically different and I guess I should separate this one and whatever the new one will be. 
> 
> Love and gratitude, my friends.
> 
> P.S. Here's the PDF I managed to save of [all 22 chapters.](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DsArlmrfnOswrPxcwCJppUSuneQ62uFR) Hehehe yeah I guess 3 new-ish chapters included. DermatologistTested was my very first AO3 pseud.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake is avoiding Yang. Yang is a part-time pet groomer and a full-time student. Bad news.

Blake Belladonna checked her watch for the sixth time since she had gotten out of her car. Her friends had pointed out how punctual she always was. It shouldn't be a big deal. She believed that everybody should adhere to a personal schedule to avoid wasting the time of many. She prided herself in that. 

Velvet had said to swing by the shop by four-thirty in the afternoon, when her shift would end. Blake could just as well stand in front of the counter at four-twenty-six and Velvet wouldn't bat an eye. She would even be thrilled, in fact, but after months of ceaseless commenting from Coco herself, Blake learned to arrive five minutes later than agreed upon. That didn't mean she can't sit in her car, reading or standing outside, checking emails and messages. 

The overheard bell rang softly as she pushed through the heavy glass door of Noola's Pet Wares and Groomers. Beyond the aisles of assorted pet care products and toys was the counter where Velvet Scarlatina greeted cheerfully, "Good afternoon, welcome to-" 

"Hi, Velvet." Blake said, making sure not to accidentally kick some of the toys from the lower shelves to the floor as she walked towards the counter, "It's just me." 

"Hey, Blake! I'll be out in..." Velvet turned her head and looked up above the counter to the blue plastic clock, "two minutes. The next shift's already inside with Mr. Pirelli's dog."

Mr. Pirelli's dog, a Lhasa Apso with the wildest, softest mane of brown hair Blake had ever seen. She silently thanked the universe that Velvet hadn't gotten stuck taking care of little Shelby or else she'd have to wait another thirty minutes for her friend to finish combing through all that hair. Velvet was just like that. She never really liked leaving something she had already started. 

"Don't tell me." Blake groaned, "It's―"

"Don't be so hard on her." Velvet exclaimed, "She's a nice girl. Yeah, she's weird, but she's a real sweetheart. Not to mention she's more efficient than Louie King."

"Yeah," Blake realized that she was speaking too loudly, worried that the person they were speaking of would be able to hear a word they were saying. She inched closer to Velvet and dropped her voice to a whisper. "but she's weird." 

Velvet giggled and shook her head, "You just think she's weird because she likes you." 

"She's a little too forward for me." Blake plucked a nail clipper from the display rack and turned it over in her hands, hoping to avoid the strange look in Velvet's eyes. 

"She's honest." Velvet said under her breath, maybe to just herself, but Blake heard it loud and clear. She excused herself and ducked her head into the door behind her, calling out to Ms. Lulu 

Delaney that her shift had ended and that she was going to head out. 

Blake inched away from the counter, knowing Velvet would still have to log out. Ms. Lulu's smile was wide as she stepped into view, wiping her hands on her apron. For a woman over forty, she looked like she had barely aged since she turned eighteen, luscious brown hair falling in waves and soulful blue eyes that reminded Blake of winter. 

Blake was feeling skittish. She did not want to run into her. If she was waiting for someone else, she would have stepped outside or waited in her car, but this was Velvet, her childhood friend, the one person she had poured her heart out too in sixth grade when a teacher had given her a lower than Blake-adequate grade, the one she confessed her feelings to about a boy she had met with the most mesmerizing red hair in Remnant, and the one who listened when she herself had gotten red, black and blue more than once. 

She was here for Velvet and Blake was ready to endure whatever awkwardness being in Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers would entail just for her. This wasn't the first anyway, but today, she was just in no mood to have to deal with Yang Xiao Long. 

"Thanks, Ms. Lulu!" Velvet carefully folded her apron and set it aside under the counter, "I'll see you next Tuesday." 

"You girls take care now!" Ms. Lulu called out after them. 

Blake and Velvet stepped out into the warm summer air, ready to head out to their secret place, their little piece of heaven where they liked to be alone, reading books, studying, indulging in their hobbies and where they just sat together in comfortable silence, just existing. 

It was going to be a relaxing afternoon of silence, now that Blake was free from the suspense of running into a girl who liked her. 

* * *

Inside Noola's Pet Wares and Groomers, Ms. Lulu was happily humming a tune that softly played from the grooming station in the back, a classic soft rock ballad that started with one of the sweetest piano pieces she had ever heard. 

It had been a cause for concern, before, that Yang Xiao Long preferred working with a little bit of background music on, but the two of them had talked and discussed what type of songs the young woman could play and sing along to when she was at work with the animals. Yang worked fast. Faster, still, when she followed a rhythm that she could actually hear. So far, none of the animals had been difficult for her star part-timer and none of them had had a problem with the human and her musical taste. 

Yang Xiao Long was rinsing off the suds from Shelby's fur, hips swaying to the song. The brown Lhasa Apso was staring at her, patiently waiting until she was squeaky clean and about to be dried off. Yang would then have to take her time on that, remembering how the dog hated the sound of the dryer. 

"... to carry on..." she sang as she ran her hands through the dog's fur.

Shelby kept her mouth shut, big brown eyes pleading for Yang to stop the shower head and let her run around and play. Yang promised that they would take a break before the drying and that they would take a walk and play in the park before Mr. Pirelli would come pick her up and just about the same time as her shift ended. 

The song was just getting good when the build-up had changed into the familiar sound of her Scroll ringing, signalling a call. 

Yang hoped that it wasn't Nora calling her to borrow one of her lecture notes again. Nora was her friend, yes, but she had no problems getting coffee stains on one of the pages, or accidentally spilling a drop or two of water in a diagram, smudging the ink until it was hard to decipher. 

She had half a mind to just let it go straight to voicemail. Yang didn’t want to leave Shelby alone for a single moment. But something, at the back of her mind, was telling her to stop what she was doing and pick up. It was an invisible force, strong and compelling, a low hum that beckoned her to her Scroll. 

It was stronger than Yang's obligation to her work. She tucked Shelby under her arm, feeling the moisture soak through her blue shirt and cotton bra. She made her way to the far side of the room where her Scroll and speakers were and stared down at an unknown number. 

Her better judgment screamed at her, telling her not to pick up, but there was that soft tug of the universe again, pulling at her heart, the feeling that this was a call that she should not miss. 

And so, Yang Xiao Long picked up, and heard a hesitant voice on the other line.

"Hello? Ms. Yang Xiao Long?" the voice of a man said, soft and accented. 

"Th- this," she hesitated, setting Shelby on the counter and grabbing a towel to begin the drying process, "This is Yang Xiao Long. Who's this?" 

There was silence on the other line. Yang stared down into the pleading eyes of Shelby, her fur not nearly half as dry and the towel already dripping. 

"Hello?" Yang ventured, discarding the soaked towel and grabbing a fresh one from the nearest pile. She wrapped Shelby around this one, hoping to keep the phone call brief so she could return to work. 

She could not afford to lose this job. 

"Yes," the voice continued, "this is Atty. Ozpin from Patch." 

She had heard that name before, years ago, sitting at the top of the stairs, way past her bed time. Her father had said that name with an angry tone followed by a string of apologies and bargains. 

She waited, confused as to why her father's old friend would be calling her. 

"Ms. Xiao Long," he finally said, "I'm going to need you to sit down. I'm afraid I have some bad news." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	2. A Name to Claim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang drives back to Patch, a home she hasn't been to in three years.

It was barely light out. The sunrise was probably an hour away; maybe less. It wasn’t so bad considering she and a couple of other unfortunate souls were the only ones making their journey to whichever back-end small town they were going to. 

She still struggled to wrap her head around the situation. It just came out of nowhere. It wasn’t as if it was inevitable, but the timing was entirely unexpected. She remembered feeling her throat run dry and a million memories overloading in her mind. Shelby was yapping away and Ms. Delaney was growing impatient with her. 

Her fingers were freezing that day, same as they were this morning. To make matters worse, she had forgotten to eat anything last night and before she left. She felt her stomach shattering her inconclusive emotions, growling and yanking her back to the endless highway ahead, a lone burger joint right in front of her. 

Yang pulled her beat-up yellow hatchback up to the window, crumpled bills at the ready and a hunger begging to be dealt with. The faint smell of wet carpet couldn't deter her from consuming the breakfast bun she had ordered through the speaker box. After multiple failed attempts to thoroughly clean her car, Yang had just gotten used to the smell and noted it as a background discomfort. 

The guy at the counter looked grumpy as he held the paper bag out, dark circles under his eyes and the air of someone who would rather be at an actual graveyard than the graveyard shift. What’s the difference anyway? She knew the feeling. She knew how nerve-wracking the fast food service could get, but it had given her enough cash to pay for two-thirds of her hatchback. 

"One breakfast bun with extra..." the guy trailed off, wide awake than before. 

He openly stared at her and Yang wondered if he had mentally fallen asleep or something else. She knew, though, exactly what he was thinking. 

"Salsa?" Yang supplied and laughed when the guy simply nodded, mouth still hanging open and a twitch in the corner of his lips. 

"Salsa. Yeah. Hi." His voice rose an octave. 

Yang gingerly took the bag from his hand and replaced it with her crumpled cash. This was fun and all, but she had somewhere to be. She waved him goodbye and drove off into the freeway. With one hand gripping the steering wheel, she fished for her breakfast bun with the other and laughed. She turned the radio back up, skipping past the static until she heard a familiar song that some distant relative might have liked, glad to have ordered the extra cheese. 

"Salsa." she muttered in between bites and giggles. 

An hour into the drive, she wished she had ordered a cup of coffee with her breakfast bun and 

imaginary salsa. She wasn't entirely used to being up before the crack of dawn, but she had to beat the weekend traffic jam and be there by ten in the morning. 

Oddly enough, Yang felt like it was just another day, that this was just another morning outside of her routine. A tiny part of her wanted to put off the drive for another week, but a bigger part of her wanted to just get this over with and be done with it. 

It wasn't every day that she would get called back to her childhood home. 

The sun was peeking out of the horizon ahead and Yang had grabbed her old sunglasses from the glove compartment. She sighed and smiled once more, realizing that everything she owned was old, second-hand or in bad condition, but Yang believed that if it still functioned the way it was intended, then it wasn't at all useless. She thought, that even if she had the luxury of money, she wouldn't trade her beloved possessions for shiny new things. 

Her college tuition had been paid for in advance, a parting gift from her mother after she graduated high school. Just one more year and she'd be done with higher education to get a job to provide for herself, but it's not as if she hadn't been doing just that for the last three years. 

The clock on her radio read 9:12 AM. Three hours of smooth sailing, the sound of an old pop song drowning out the soft chugging of her car. She made a left turn off the highway, spotting the first hint of the weekend traffic that she was glad to have entirely evaded. 

If memory served, she would drive up onto the old dirt road, past trees older than herself and into the driveway where a rusty truck would be gathering dust and shining in rust. Only twenty more minutes. Every second that ticked by, every street sign that faded out of view pulled heavily on her chest, the weight of situation finally settling in. 

She turned the radio off and shoved the food wrappers back into the paper bag when her car lurched forward, struggling to press a new set of tracks on the old dirt road. 

Yang never imagined coming back to Patch any time soon. She thought she had about another year, but here she was, cursing into her steering wheel and wondering how she ever managed to ride her bike up this slippery, muddy slope. 

She could see the rooftop now, praying that her car could at least make it onto the flatter and safer parts of the hill. She pulled the stick shift one last time, channelling her energy into her car, groaning at the final lurch forward before her car stopped altogether. 

"Oh come on!" Yang huffed, slamming her head against the steering wheel. 

She barely made it to the makeshift driveway and her car was barely over the flatter part of the hill. She gulped down air, feeling her head pounding, forcing herself to keep her temper in check before she destroyed another part of her dear old car. 

Yang stepped out onto the road, the mud had dried up enough, but the ground was still soft under her weight. She looked around, spotted the garage in the far back. She took a deep breath and stared up at the house she grew up in. 

It was more a camping lodge than an actual house, if somebody would ask for her two cents. She remembered a brief time in her pre-teenage years when she had grown to like setting things on fire and with a house that was built primarily with wood, her father had gotten very upset with her and grounded her for three weeks. 

Taiyang Xiao Long. 

She was named after him and rightly so, she was a chip off the old block. Luscious blonde hair, the athletic build, the easy-going yet stubborn demeanor and penchant for the simple things in life? Yang was very much like him and it annoyed them both to no end. 

Some days the two of them would get along very well, joking around and pushing each other to the limits of their patience, but most days, the jokes turned to sobering truths and patience was nowhere to be found. 

She took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the forest and distant animal excrements. Yang circled to the back of her car, slipping slightly where the hill dipped and with one deep breath, she pushed. Her old yellow hatchback was not prepared for this. Dust, she wasn't prepared for this. She was out of shape, but she trusted in her strength and managed to move the car about a foot onto the flat driveway. 

"Ms. Xiao Long?" a soft voice cut through her exertion. 

Yang turned to the front door and saw a man with greying hair, a hand on the doorknob and eyes about to pop out of their sockets. 

"Hi!" Yang called out, giving one last push of her car before she dusted her fingers off of her skirt, "You must be Ozpin?" 

"Yes." he turned back into the house before he closed it behind him, regarding her fully, "We weren't expecting you for another hour." 

"I told you I'd be here by ten." Yang glanced at the watch on her wrist, a freebie she had gotten from purchasing two boxes of bourbon last Christmas, "Well, look at that. I'm twenty-eight minutes early. For once." 

"Car troubles?" Ozpin pulled on the lapels of his green coat, flattening his black tie. 

He looked very stylish for an old man and Yang felt completely underdressed. She stared down at herself, black tank top underneath her open brown leather jacket, a black skirt and brand new stockings beneath her weathered boots. Yes, she was definitely underdressed. 

"The old girl here just hasn't been off-road in months." Yang slapped a hand to her car, like a proud mother patting her child on the back for a job well done. 

"Everyone's waiting for you inside." Ozpin motioned to the doorway. 

Yang looked past him and through the glass windows. There was definitely movement inside, probably from a few friends and acquaintances. She nodded towards Ozpin, deciding that she could retrieve her overnight bag sometime later, chalking it up to an exit strategy that she might need later on when things would most definitely get a little awkward. 

They were silent as she climbed the three steps to the front porch, feeling the wood shift and creaking beneath her. She didn't remember that. 

Ozpin had opened the door for her. Gone was the sound of the forest. She had been submerged into the soft lull of murmurs and light footsteps, foreign sounds that invaded once sacred spaces. She saw familiar faces, wrinkled smiles and well-wishes covered in pity, confusion and a light dusting of contempt. 

"Would you like to see him, Ms. Xiao Long?" Ozpin stopped her in front of the living room where the crowd thickened. 

"Yang." she muttered, correcting him. Her eyes had found the kitchen doorway, a semi-new coat of paint chipping off. 

"Yang." Ozpin said softly, eyes growing even kinder, but Yang couldn't help but feel the urge to punch him in the nose. 

"Yeah, sure." she tore her eyes away and steeled herself for the onslaught. 

That was what she came here to do after all: spend an entire weekend under the scrutiny of acquaintances, comfort those that need it and be on her merry way, back to her life, back to studying fifteen hours a day, working thirty-two hours a week, back to her home, stuffy, messy with a faint smell of dog food. 

Yang followed Ozpin into the living room, nodding acknowledgments to old family friends and dodging the children buzzing with impatience around her legs. The widescreen TV was no longer there, probably moved upstairs where no one can accidentally break it. It wasn't needed here today anyway. 

The two of them made their way to the far end of the room, where the DVD case used to be. Ozpin stopped a few feet short of the intended destination, turning back to Yang as she approached. He was searching for emotions that weren't flashing across her face. He was waiting for her to make a decision she had made years ago: to run. But Yang was too tired and sleepy for that and all this time of living alone had taught her that these things tend to have a way of catching up to you. 

She stood her ground, swallowed the lump in her throat, nodded to Ozpin one last time and moved forward. The heat from the candles licked at her cheeks, the smoke burning her eyes and summoned tears that people were expecting of her. If she were to shed any tears, she had no way of knowing if they were real or a natural reaction to the irritation. 

She stepped up to the coffin and stared at the peaceful face of her father. She closed her eyes for a second, wondering if he was wearing a new Blue Dress Uniform that was a little too big for him or if he had lost weight since the last time she had seen him. 

There were no words to say. Not to this lifeless man in uniform. Yang had said it all before she packed her bags and headed to the big city. Now, there were only regrets, wishes that would never come true and broken promises that will never be mended. 

Yang felt bad. Here she was, three years later, standing in front of her father's coffin, and she felt nothing. Not grief and most certainly not joy. Just... frustration. She was not a very good daughter right now, not that she had been to him in years anyway. 

She counted the ticking of the clock. This shouldn't be too brief for people to think that she was an ungrateful daughter. Taiyang was not the best father in the world, but he wasn't all that bad either. She stood staring at his shaved chin, back turned to curious eyes. Another minute would be enough, she supposed, conjuring up good memories that would somehow urge her thoughts to make her cry. 

"What is she doing here?" a shaky voice cut in behind her, resentful and loud enough for everyone to hear. 

The crowd had stopped whispering altogether. Yang felt her heart racing and a chill run up her spine. She could also feel a few prying eyes on her while others turned away or shuffled out of the room. 

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin shifted away from Yang's periphery, his heavy steps making the floorboards creak, "we've already discussed this. Ms. Xiao Long just needs a moment to pay her respects to your father." 

"Perfect timing, eh, sis?" Ruby sneered at the back of Yang's head. "Or were you waiting all this time?" 

"Ms. Rose, please." Ozpin pleaded. 

Yang sighed. She had been expecting Ruby to be upset with her. Her sister had only been fourteen when she packed up and left. But this was a whole new level of animosity that she thought impossible for the usually optimistic Ruby Rose. "I'll be with you in a minute. Now I have to start all over again." 

Before Ruby could say anything more, Ozpin had moved to escort the young girl out of the room. Yang shut her eyes and cursed under her breath. Three years have passed and it had only gotten worse. 

This was going to be a long weekend. 


	3. Something to Rely On

_ "I'm so sorry for your loss."  _

_ "I'm sure he was very proud of you, dear."  _

_ "If there is anything we can do, just let me know."  _

_ "So you're the daughter he talked about?"  _

_ "My heart and thoughts are with you and your family."  _

_ "It's so good to see you again."  _

_ "I wish we could've met under happier circumstances."  _

_ "If you ever need somebody to talk to..."  _

_ "At least he didn't feel the pain."  _

_ "We'll just be a call away, Yang."  _

Yang pulled her leather coat over her chest and straightened her skirt the moment she slipped into her car. She took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of wet carpet mixed with yesterday’s breakfast that lay forgotten on the passenger’s seat. She gripped the steering wheel and waited, watching her father’s friends make their way out of the cemetery. 

She recognized an old couple, the McNealys, in the throng, arms extended to wrap Ruby in a hug, to offer some sort of comfort and support. They kept their hands on her slumped shoulders as she marched towards the back of Ozpin’s car. Judging from the disappointment on the McNealys’ faces, whatever they promised to the young girl hadn’t even resulted in a smile. Ruby Rose was utterly inconsolable. 

Ozpin was close by, two steps behind them. He nodded his thanks to the old couple and reached for his car door. He stopped to look at Yang through her windshield. He was probably making sure that she was going to stay and chat like she had promised the night before. 

Yang nodded in acknowledgement. It was enough to get the older man to slip into the driver’s seat of his blue mini van. That didn’t stop him from looking right at her as he started his car and slowly drove past her. 

That was the thing about runners. Nobody expects them to stay. 

Yang couldn’t really blame Ozpin. After yesterday’s events, she assumed that Ruby was one of the few people he had spoken with frequently. In Yang’s absence, of course, Ruby would find that she was free to say all of the unkind things that she felt about her older sister. 

If all the man knew about Yang Xiao Long was that she prematurely left for college three years ago and never came back, then that was how he was going to treat her now. 

A part of her wished that he knew the whole story, the part where her opinion mattered. Runners always have a reason for running and sometimes, it’s something to run to or something to run from. If she told him, would he understand, as foolish as it may be? Would he look her in the eyes and tell her that it was going to be okay and not just stare at her like a fish gasping for air? 

She started her old hatchback and turned out of the cemetery. 

Would it even matter if she told him or not? It didn’t seem to matter to the people she loved. What made him any different? Ozpin was, after all, another friendly face in a sea of people, of strangers, of well-wishers that would soon forget. Impermanent. . 

She followed his blue mini van closely and as silently as the old hatchback would allow. There would be no music this morning, just the silence where the past could whisper its curses and caress with cold fingers. 

The drive up to the house was as troublesome as it had been yesterday. They had all stopped a couple of times so that Yang could start up her car and resume following them. She was just glad that the old girl was actually moving up instead of rolling down, struggling to reach the top of the hill. 

When she had made it three feet away from the hill slope, Yang grabbed the forgotten paper bag that once held yesterday’s breakfast and climbed out of the vehicle with practiced ease. She circled to the other side of her old hatchback and barely caught sight of Ruby making a run from Ozpin’s car towards the front door. 

Ozpin followed her, an accordion folder under his arm, but he stopped by the front door, looking right at her. He barely responded to anything. His expression was neutral even after Yang pointedly stared at him as she walked past him. There was something about him that made her feel uncomfortable. 

She heard the door close as she ducked into the entry hall, shoving the paper bag into the nearest waste basket. Ozpin had called them both back out and invited them to talk in the kitchen. The living room couch was still in the attic along with the TV and their father's elaborate and expensive sound system. 

Yang stood by the kitchen doorway. She didn’t mean to do it, but her eyes had landed on the indentations on the wood, badly painted over. It was unusual to think that she was barely two feet tall. Now, she towered over most of her friends. 

Ruby Rose, eyes red and puffy from crying through the entire service, stomped down the steps and then propped herself up on one of the dining chairs. Yang followed suit, opting to seat herself as far away from her little sister as possible. 

Ozpin regarded them for a moment, standing at the doorway with his accordion folder in his arms. After what seemed like an eternity, the man moved closer and sat down on the chair between them. He carefully slid his folder over the tabletop and began rummaging through the contents before closing it to look at them. 

“As you know,” Ozpin cleared his throat, “your father and I have met several times in the last months of his life. Taiyang Xiao Long had felt his time coming and called me to help you both, hereinafter referred to as his ‘heirs’, with the division of his property and assets.”

Yang nodded, if only to shake herself awake. Ruby only sniffled in response, picking at a corner of the table. The little girl had her bottom lip between her teeth and there were fresh tears pooling in her silver eyes. 

"Right." Ozpin opened his accordion folder again, but this time, he pulled out a few stacks of paper and carefully laid them out on the table. He urged the two girls to get a copy and held one out in front of himself as he instructed them to read along with him. 

Yang’s copy was five pages long and listed Taiyang Xiao Long’s property, assets and belongings and who they would go to — his last will and testament. Most of the words were strange to Yang and some of them she hadn’t encountered before. She had no in-depth knowledge of these things, but she knew what the concept of inheritance was. 

It was simple. There was herself and then there was Ruby. It was a fifty-fifty split. Although, she couldn’t help but wonder if, Raven, her biological mother and Taiyang’s first wife was going to get something. Yang thought that maybe Taiyang wrote this last will and testament to keep Raven out. 

Still, Raven and their father had divorced a long time ago and he married Summer Rose, Ruby’s mother. Yang continued reading. She was curious to know if their father would even mention her mother in his will. 

She skipped through the list of Taiyang’s belongings and went ahead to who they would go to. There was no mention of Raven at all. Apparently, everything their father had ever owned would be divided between them equally. Except for one thing — 

Their father’s elaborate, state-of-the-art and moderately expensive sound system would go to his business partner, Ed, to be used in the Sun Dragon Dojo. 

Yang’s jaw dropped. She had loved that sound system as much as Taiyang loved it. She had very fond memories of it and now it wasn’t even going to be passed down to her. It was going to rot in the dojo, playing high-octane and slightly uncool music on full volume to a bunch of sweaty dudes until it’s worn down. 

She kept quiet. There was no room to argue and beg for Ozpin to have the sound system go to her instead. It was, after all, her father’s last request and she had to respect that. 

The Sun Dragon Dojo. The Xiao-Long family business. 

Yang shook her head and lightly tapped the table to get everyone's attention, "What about the dojo?" 

"We're getting to that." Ozpin said calmly, turning his copy to the next page as a demonstration for Yang. 

Yang had gotten her answer in the first three sentences. Taiyang Xiao Long had sold the Sun Dragon Dojo to his business partner eight months ago and Ed had fully paid for the sale last week. All that was left of the money would then be divided between her and Ruby Rose. 

Her head was reeling. First, it was the sound system and now it was the family business. Everything that was entirely Xiao Long wasn’t even going to go to a Xiao Long. It was all going to Ed. 

"He sold the dojo?" Yang almost screamed. 

"We needed the money to pay for his medical bills." Ruby groaned, "It wasn't as if you'd come rushing back to take over the family business." 

"How did I not know about this?" Yang demanded, one hand tugging at her hair and pulling on her scalp. 

"Why would he tell you?" Ruby slammed a tiny fist on the table, "How could he even have told you? You never return any of his calls." 

Ozpin cleared his throat to silence them both, "Please, let's continue." 

"No." Yang pushed her seat back, the grating sound reverberated in her head as she gripped the corners of the table and stared down her little sister, "And listen to him tell me over and over about how much of a disappointment I am? Oh, Yang, why are you like that? Why are you such a fuck- up?" 

"Ms. Xiao Long." Ozpin tried to chime in, but his words had been drowned out by the sister’s bickering. 

"Why does everything have to be about you ? We just buried our father and you're digging up the past. He's probably rolling in his grave right now and he's so very much disappointed in you." 

"Tell me something I don't know!" Yang shouted. 

"Both of you, stop this right now." Ozpin threw his photocopies on the table, but the sisters still ignored him. 

"Why should I?" Ruby yelled back, "You never listen. You’re all hair and no brains. Maybe if you shave your head, you wouldn’t be such an airhead.” 

“Airhead?!” Yang put her hand against her chest and leaned closer, “I am not an airhead. In fact, you all never say anything new. It was always ‘Yang, don’t do this’, ‘Yang, why are you like this’, ‘Yang, you need to do something about that attitude of yours’. Just stop” 

“You’re a mean girl!” Ruby screeched, “This is why dad never got around to repairing that stupid, overcompensating bike of yours.” 

“You are so whiny!” 

“At least I’m not an airhead.” 

“Call me that one more time. I da—” 

“Airhead! Airhead!” 

“Stop it, monkey-face.” 

“Don’t call me that!” 

"Enough!" 

Ozpin finally rose from his seat, chin held high and no trace of kindness on his face, but he said nothing more. His brown eyes darting between Ruby, her knuckles white over the table, and Yang, her eyes almost bursting with the intense fury she felt and a lifetime's despair burning at the tip of her tongue. 

Here they were, digging up past grievances. Yang had been so close to saying something to Ruby that she would definitely regret. For the first time in the last two days, she was truly grateful for the presence of Ozpin. But that didn’t make him any less infuriating. 

Yang bit her tongue and stared out into the forest as she sat herself down, listening for her other companions to do the same. She was not going to be the fuck-up today. She was going to be the mature one, the civil one, the responsible one. 

Three years was a long time. She couldn’t be that heartbroken girl who ran out of the front door, the girl who couldn’t get her father’s voice, calling after her, from her head. She was a different woman now, even if she didn’t feel like it, but she tried her best. 

She couldn’t afford to look like a child right now. 

Ozpin sat himself down quietly and Ruby huffed as she followed. Yang concentrated on the twisted branch outside, constantly reminding herself not to spare a look in her agitated sister's direction or else spend another night here. 

They continued with the reading of their father's will, Ozpin’s voice a constant ringing and droning. Yang just stared at the printed letters, her thoughts drifting towards old library books, hastily-written notes and test papers. Ozpin had just said something about adjustments and acceptance. Yang thought of the summer she, Ruby and Taiyang pitched a tent in the backyard. Ozpin mentioned deeds and newspapers. She thought of sneaking home from a party one night and finding her father whispering to a picture frame. 

Yang shook her head, forcing herself to actually listen to what Ozpin was saying. She groaned and gave up when he seemed to be talking about one of those mythical stories she had read in high school. She assumed he was making some sort of allegory to make them feel better. 

“You’ve got to be kidding, Mr. Ozpin!” Ruby cried out. 

Yang jumped and turned to Ruby. She watched as her little sister crumpled her photocopies, leaning towards Ozpin. Her big, silver eyes were even bigger, pleading and bargaining to the man who remained unfazed. 

"This was what your father wanted for you, Ms. Rose." Ozpin shut his eyes and massaged his temples, setting his glasses askew, "It's all written here in his will. Signed and notarized." 

“But... but...” Ruby rose from her seat and shot angry looks at both Ozpin and Yang, “That’s not fair. No way. No. Why didn’t I know about this before now? Why are you doing this to me?” 

Yang turned back to the tree stump outside that looked like a basketball in the distance. If she was getting tired of Ruby’s whining, Ozpin deserved an award for being the most patient man. 

"Why would dad have told you?" Yang muttered. 

"You weren't listening, were you?" Ruby's voice rose and then fell into a strained whisper, "You never pay attention. You're a stupid oaf. A stupid, stupid airhead.” 

Yang squared her jaw and bit her tongue, casting the most venomous look she could at her little sister. Ruby suddenly seemed smaller than she truly was. Tears were streaming down her face and her lips quivered as she used her hair as a curtain. 

If Yang hadn’t paid attention before, she was very much aware right now. Her senses were all focused on Ruby, how her voice cracked when she whispered, “Why am I stuck with you?’ 

"Ms. Xiao Long is your closest relative, Ms. Rose." Ozpin gathered Ruby's copies and straightened them out, "You are still a minor and your sister is of legal age, of sound mind and will be financially capable of providing you with food, shelter and education until you turn eighteen." 

Yang froze, her fingers tightening around the document in her hand. She felt the paper dig into her skin, but the headache was much painful. Her throat ran dry and so did her patience. 

"Are you shitting balls?" Yang could feel the earth shake and bile burning her throat. She would have to provide Ruby Rose, her bratty little sister with food, shelter and education and whatever else Ozpin and her father wanted until she turned eighteen and Ruby wasn’t going to turn seventeen in a couple of months."She hasn't even turned seventeen yet." 

"I am aware of Ms. Rose's birth date and age, Ms. Xiao Long." Ozpin sighed, pulling a different stack of documents from his folder, "In less than fifteen months, the state will finally recognize her as an adult, free to do whatever she pleases. Until that time, she is your responsibility.” 

Responsibility. Yang Xiao Long was going to have to be responsible for a sixteen-year-old girl. The fury was gone, giving way to the heavy feeling of tears rushing to her head. 

Ozpin carefully slipped the stack of papers towards Yang and pulled the most hideous pen Yang had ever seen from out of his jacket pocket. 

Before Yang were forms that she would agree to become Ruby Rose’s legal guardian and would be financially responsible for her food, for her basic needs and shelter and school. Whatever the little girl needed, Yang would have to give for the next, to be exact, fifteen months. 

Fifteen months was a long time. 

Yang felt sick. She steadied herself with one hand as she slowly wrapped her fingers around the pen being offered to her. She felt powerless in that instant, trapped, bound to a responsibility she wanted no part of. She regretted taking a look at Ruby; seeing the horrified look on her face made Yang sick. 

She knew this was going to happen. There was a voice at the back of her mind that was telling her that something like this was going to happen. Ruby Rose had no other family. Her biological mother died when they were younger. All she had left was their father, Taiyang. 

And now, she had Yang. 

Yang redoubled her efforts to keep the tears from falling. Even if she had years to prepare for this moment to happen, it would still be a suckerpunch when it finally did. She wasn’t ready to take care of anyone. She was barely doing well for herself. 

She wasn’t prepared for this. 

Ruby hated her. She surely didn't want anything to do with the fuck-up who left for college and never once looked back. If Yang were being honest, she didn't want anything to do with Ruby either. She wanted to run back to the life she actually liked, being a full-time student, a part-time animal groomer, driving her beat-up hatchback, playing card games in cafes with her friends and not having the life of a sixteen-year-old girl rest on her shoulders. 

Yang clicked the butt of the pen twice, hands shaking when she realized that this was one of those fancy pens that you twist to get the ballpoint out. Her thoughts were running freely, conjuring up memories of an accident with a fountain pen, of muffled cries in the night and empty bottles of liquor all over the floor. 

Yang could hear her heart thumping against her chest and she wondered if Ruby and Ozpin could hear it as well. Ruby was silent and so was he. They could try to convince Yang to sign the papers and they could try to talk her out of it, but their silence was palpable. She had never felt so alone. 

They were all waiting for Yang, indecisive Yang, holding the pen over the dotted lines above her name, reading the little sticky note on the side that read "Yang, signature". She pulled her hand back and skimmed through the rest of the documents below, flipping through words that made no sense the longer she looked at them. Four copies, she counted. Twelve signatures. 

She turned back to the top page, staring at Ozpin's neat handwriting on the sticky note. She began reading through the paper again, trying to stitch together anything that she could understand. Who, in their right minds, would entrust the life of an ungrateful little brat to her? 

Did she even have a choice? Ruby Rose had nowhere else to go. Would her decision even matter? 

Yang Xiao Long gripped the ugly metal pen tighter, the cool metal a great contrast to the heat of her fingers. She stared at the little piece of paper with her name on it. She was scared. She was ashamed. She didn’t want this. She wasn’t prepared for this. 

"What happens if I refuse?" Yang whispered. 

She heard Ruby's sharp intake of breath, heard the sound of Ozpin's hand curling into fists over his accordion folder. 

This should have been expected of her. She had just turned twenty-one. She had planned to adopt a puppy, not a real, living, breathing, girl. She was the selfish fuck-up who ran away and never called. Was the universe punishing her for standing up for herself? 

“We have...” Ozpin cleared his throat, "We've been trying to investigate the whereabouts of Ms. Rose's maternal family... Are you sure about this, Ms. Xiao Long? If you refuse to be Ruby’s legal guardian and if no other family member would take that responsibility, I'm afraid Ms. Rose will have to be integrated into the foster care system until a court hearing will be scheduled to appoint a guardian for her." 

Yang watched the color drain from Ruby's cheeks. The little girl wasn't too happy about the situation. Not one bit. Not that Yang doubted she felt angry, not that Yang was happy about it as well. 

She felt her heart beat a million miles a minute, felt phantom hands pressing against her skull. Yang gulped in the air as subtly as possible, but her lungs weren't the least bit cooperative. She would have to be responsible for Ruby. Completely. 100%. No one else. The more she thought about it, the hotter her throat felt. 

"Ms. Xiao Long?" Ozpin's voice sounded so far away and moving fast towards the opposite direction. 

Yang moved as naturally as the situation allowed — like her hatchback after driving up the hill — groggy and heavy. Every noise felt like a humming in her ears and any slight movement she made resulted in a dizzy spell. The pen in her hand almost weighed like her car, colder than it had been only moments ago. Yang looked at her morphed reflection on the small thing and felt her stomach roll. 

She only expected a weekend, dust, maybe even an entire month of going back and forth to handle the transfer of whatever possession her father had. To tie up loose ends. She even expected to have his cool sound system sitting in her apartment and annoying the neighbors to no end, bass thumping and shaking the walls. 

Not a sixteen-almost-seventeen-year-old girl who detests her and curses the ground she walked on. 

Not this. 

The tears were coming, Yang could feel it. They were real this time. She didn’t have to conjure up memories to feign sadness for propriety. She felt her chest tighten and her world getting d— 

"She's not going to sign." Ruby whispered. 

Yang looked up at her little sister, so small and fragile. She looked as pale as she was probably hopeless by now. Her hands were limp atop the photocopies of their father's last will and testament or whatever legal piece of paper Ozpin had fished out of his folder. No doubt she was thinking of what happens at the end of the day. 

Two very different sisters with very different images of tomorrow. Yang was sure that she was going to drive back to her apartment in Vale. 

"You know as well as I do," Yang said softly, braving to look into her sister's eyes, "I can’t take care of you. You don't even like me. I never asked for this, Ruby. I'm sorry." 

"I didn't ask for this either." Ruby's voice was so, so soft that Yang had barely caught it. She slipped off the chair; shoulders slumped and dragged her feet out of the kitchen. 

Ozpin was silent, politely staring at the documents he had in front of him, but Yang knew what he was thinking. She's seen that expression countless times before and they always followed with how poorly she was doing with her life. 

No matter how much she tried, Yang would never be the hero she thought she was. She was the fuck-up runaway, the villain everyone liked to blame. She had always been different. She had always been the unconventional one. She had also always been the bad guy too, but this was the first time that she felt like one. 

Yang longed to pack what little belongings she brought with her, jump into her yellow hatchback and drive back to her new home, to her life, to her friends. They would call her tonight, offer their condolences and a couch to crash on after a few bottles of beer and pizza at their apartment. Yang would decline, tell them that she wasn't in the mood to get shit-faced, then she'd tell them all about Ruby. 

She'd tell her friends how she couldn't take care of her little sister. They'll be upset with her. She was certain of this. Always, always, they were on her side, but this matter was too personal for her two friends, too familiar, too horrible that they will probably lash out at her if they find out. 

Ruby was turning seventeen in two months anyway. After that, it's going to be an entire year. She would spend most of her days at the university and she guessed she'll have to find a high school Ruby could transfer to where she could spend her days. 

Fifteen months. 

"You know," Ozpin leaned closer, hands steepled in front of him as he spoke, "we have a lead on some of her biological mother's family." 

"You mean, Summer Rose's parents?" Yang cleared her throat. 

"No, her parents were long gone before your father and she met. But Summer had cousins. Rose isn't exactly a very unique name and the Rose family had moved around a lot." 

"Vagabonds by day and baker of wild cookies by night." Yang forced herself to laugh and felt her throat run dry. 

She missed Summer Rose so much. 

"I'm going to have to call social services." Ozpin whispered, "You need not worry, Ms. Xiao Long, the foster care system is only a temporary solution. If we're lucky, we could locate the rest of the Rose family soon enough and Ruby could spend her last year as a minor with them." 

"Yeah, but..." Yang's voice was hoarse, turning the fancy, heavy pen in her hand, "What if you find them in the middle of the school year and they're, I don't know, miles and miles away? Ruby's definitely going to have to pack up and start all over again." 

"Yes, it's going to be a hindrance to her education." 

Yang huffed, a smile tugging at her lips, but her guilt was pulling them down back into a frown, "Vagabonds by day, wild cookie monsters by night." 

Ozpin chuckled. Yang stared at him as he carefully tucked the documents back into his accordion folder, ignoring the stack in front of her like he was waiting for her to make her final decision, like he knew Yang was about to make a different one. 

"Little known fact," he clipped the folder shut, "Summer and I had been friends before she passed. I forgot the entire saying, but I know it's not 'baker of wild cookies by night'. It was longer." 

"I forgot too." Yang sighed, twisting the pen closed and setting it on top of the document. The sticky note with her name on it was glaringly bright to look at. She turned back to the twisted tree stump outside and for the first time since she set foot in her childhood home, she felt something right. 

"I'm sure you'll remember." Ozpin got up from his seat and padded over to get some water for the two of them. 

Yang's gaze shifted to the windowsill instead, her mind bringing back memories of when a plate of cookies were cooling on them. 

Vagabonds by day, shelters by night. 

The pen felt a little less heavy this time around.


	4. Behind My Eyes and Lies

She parked her black sedan outside of Noola's Pet Wares and Groomers. Once again, Blake arrived sooner than agreed upon, but instead of waiting for the minutes to tick by, she grabbed her coat from the passenger seat and slipped it on with ease before she slid out of the car. 

The tension in her stomach dissipated a bit when she heard the sound of the car locking. Even after driving the car around for over sixteen months, she still hadn't gotten used to the thing. It had been a gift from her parents. Congratulations on surviving the first semester, they said as they pressed the key into the palm of her hand. 

Kali and Ghira Belladonna. They were caring parents. Doting, thoughtful, respectful. Many people had said that they were spoiling their daughter rotten with luxurious gifts and their endless supply of trust. An abusive child would push the limits, rock the boat until they'd get tied to a short leash, but Blake was not like that. 

It must have been the knowledge she had consumed in her formative years. Stories of revolution, of rebellion, of consequences and triumphs. Most stories she'd read were clear with their messages and she cherished those with all her heart, but as she grew older, she learned that the best ones, the stories with the most truth in them, were the ones that made her question everything she knew. 

What is truth but a version of an event we choose to believe in? 

For Blake Belladonna, the truth was, she was not late to her appointments, always ten minutes ahead of time, to not allow her company a moment of anxiety and worry. For others, she was a stickler, afraid of being reprimanded for being late, afraid to challenge what she perceived as right and afraid of being what she deems wrong. 

She checked her watch, nine minutes early, before she reached for the door handle and stepped inside.The bell echoed through the empty store. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, her nose caught the strong scent of lemon shampoo and she could hear the sounds of struggling coming from the back room. 

"Please hold still." a familiar voice said quickly followed by a high-pitched howling sound. 

Blake craned her neck to the side as she watched Ms. Lulu Delaney poke her head out of one door. Blake calmed at the warm smile spreading across the woman's face and smiled in return as the older woman stepped out onto the counter, brown curls falling across her forehead and half of 

her apron soaked. 

"Hi, Blake." Ms. Lulu greeted, "Velvet will be out in a moment. She's helping me dry Mr. Pirelli's dog." 

"Shelby." Blake offered and nodded at the second smile on Ms. Lulu's face, "I can wait right here. I can watch the store for you too." 

"Thank you, dear." Ms. Lulu shook her head and laughed, "It's been a little difficult being so short-staffed and all. Louie King said he was on his way and I trust he'll be here soon." 

The older woman slipped back out to the back, leaving Blake to roam around the aisles, touching different types of animal toys, soaps, conditioners. She moved to the other side, scoffing to herself at the sight of a boring blue dog bed and then admiring the beige mini sofa with a smiling cat on the packaging. 

She could hear Ms. Lulu and Velvet talking in the back, Ms. Lulu instructing Velvet to lift 'the little girl' up, to hold her firmly, but not too tightly. Velvet had muttered something Blake didn't catch, but Blake heard her say a name that made her roll her eyes. 

Yang Xiao Long. 

Blake felt sorry for the girl. Velvet had told her that Yang Xiao Long had been gone for almost three weeks now. It must be tough to lose a parent and the blonde must have really loved her father that the grief of losing him kept her away this long. 

She grabbed a seafoam green squeaky toy shaped like a shoe from the stack and squeezed it a couple of times before putting it back down next to the t-bone steak plushie. 

Blake resumed her aimless browsing. Yang Xiao Long wouldn't be here. Velvet had told her the blonde wouldn't be back until next Tuesday, taking care of university requirements and getting some rest after having to deal with her father's death. 

Her eyes fell onto the most comical and sickly-looking plush toy she had ever seen: a baked turkey, complete with dark-brown finish for the burnt sides and gold for the raw sides. Blake laughed to herself at the embroidered letters on one leg. Stuffed Turkey. 

A glint of sunlight from outside of the store caught her eye. Blake froze, her hand halfway to a pack of hot pink dog booties. She was expecting to see Louie King swagger through the front door with a lazy smile on his face. For a quick second, she thought she would be seeing Yang Xiao Long herself, dark circles underneath bloodshot eyes and a worn out smile instead of the usual crooked grin. It was only a tired young man, eating a bag of chips. 

Blake sighed and felt her heart pounding. 

She didn't dislike Yang Xiao Long. Velvet wasn't lying when she said that the blonde was nice. She had sat next to her dozens of times in Gender Studies last semester. Yang Xiao Long was always a few minutes late, only beating the professor by thirty seconds or outright walking into the lecture hall with her. By that time, there weren't any other vacant seats left but the one right next to her, in the far back. 

Blake didn’t complain. Much. Yang Xiao Long wasn’t one of those students who copied their seat mate’s homework or heckled and disrupted the class for attention. She was just infuriatingly distracting. Yang liked to hum and tap her thumb against the hardwood desk. She'd be quiet, much to Blake's immense joy, if she were flipping through the pages of her notes, doodling pizza slices, milkshakes and turkey legs and scribbled words down. 

Over a month into the semester, with Yang's infallible quasi-tardiness and Blake's insistence of sitting in the back, they had formed an acknowledgment of each others' existence and accepted their unspoken seating arrangement. It was around this time that Blake noticed how often Yang Xiao Long looked in her direction and initiated small talk with her. 

Blake instantly knew the blonde's intentions. Outside of their shared lecture hall, she had gotten this very same kind of attention before. This, with Yang Xiao Long, was innocent at first, passing glances, conversations about the course work and brief comparisons of their academic history. Then it got a tad bit personal; siblings, family life, etc. 

Blake never allowed it to go any further than that. For every question Yang had, Blake provided clipped responses, hoping she would take the hint and stop what she was doing. 

Two months later though, Yang Xiao Long had waited for her outside the lecture hall, a small bouquet of flowers in her hands and a nervous smile on her face. Blake had known her a smooth talker, honeyed words had gotten her out of trouble a couple of times before, but that day, Yang Xiao Long had bitten her tongue twice, her lips were quivering and Blake could hear her teeth chattering in her skull. All of that in the span of two short sentences. 

"I think you're really cool and- and- and n-ice. I was wondering if you'd like to gret... get dinner... sometime." 

Yang’s big lilac eyes were hopeful and pleading and her lips quirked into a nervous grin that faltered every now and then. 

Blake felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. She eyed the flowers in front of her, smelling the heady scent of the plants and wondering what she might be able to do with them after this encounter. She held out her hand and waited for Yang Xiao Long to give her the flowers, staring intently into the cracks on the tiles, away from the teasing glances of her fellow students. 

Yang Xiao Long didn't seem to mind the attention. But Blake was suffocating from it. 

Dust, we barely know each other. 

"Thanks." Blake muttered that day, "But no. I have a boyfriend." 

Blake expected things to be dour between the two of them. People were usually quite friendly if they wanted something from you and Yang Xiao Long wanted a romantic relationship with her, but she shot her down. Imagine her surprise when Yang showed up, the following week, ten minutes early to class, brandishing a booklet about planting and the same crooked smile the blonde had taken to wearing around her. 

They never spoke of that day again and Blake was grateful nobody else had brought it up. Coco Adel had made herself an exception, huffing and teasing her if Yang Xiao Long would show her face around them. Velvet was another exception; in fact, she was the only exception Blake welcomed. 

"Heya, Blake!" Velvet greeted her, hair a mess and a tired smile on her face, "Ready to go?" 

"Are you done with Shelby?" Blake teased and quirked her lips into what passed for a smile. 

"Ms. Delaney's just finishing up with the brushing." Velvet reached behind her waist to untie her apron. Her brown eyes shot past Blake, out onto the streets. Blake followed her line of sight and found Louie King, bright red hair, jogging through the door. "Perfect timing!" 

"I'm not late, am I?" Louie huffed, wiping the sweat from his brows. 

Blake turned to the wall clock, "Two minutes late." 

"I can forgive that." Velvet giggled, "Ms. Delaney needs you to help with the Mr. Pirelli's dog and-" 

"Inventory." Louie nodded in Blake's direction as he passed by her, "Got it, got it. Xiao Long not back yet?" 

Velvet pressed herself against the wall as Louie unceremoniously hopped over the counter like he owned the place, "No. Next week." 

Blake inched closer to the exit, opening the door for Velvet and leading her to her car parked across the street. Wordlessly, she inspected her black sedan and felt herself relax in the absence of a scratch. It was an irrational thing. Most objects were bound to experience a little wear and tear, but Blake had kept the black sedan in pristine condition since her parents had given it to her. Maybe, she was simply waiting for the first scratch, waiting for the day she wouldn't have to keep looking for one anymore. 

The two girls slipped into the car effortlessly, rearranging their belongings, straightening their seats and fastening their seat belts in silence. Blake liked this about Velvet. The girl knew how to take care of herself that Blake didn’t have to tell her what to do and fuss over her. 

"What do you wanna do?" Velvet turned the radio on and switched stations when a gruff woman was crooning about heaven and earth, "We still have an hour and a half." 

The new station wasn't really any better. It was another husky-sounding woman, but Blake knew Velvet really liked this song about the sun, working days and girls. There truly were discomforts Blake would endure for her sweet, sweet friend and one of them was this version of the song. Never mind that it was the original. 

"I was thinking we could hide out in the usual spot for a while." Blake started the car and cruised down Main Street, stopping in front of the red light by the gas station. 

"Coco's going to be upset." Velvet groaned, tilting her head against the passenger's seat to look at Blake. 

"She doesn't have to know." Blake snorted, casting a reassuring look at Velvet. "We won't take too long, I swear." 

The lights turned green and the car right behind them impatiently honked for them to move. Blake rolled her eyes and slowly made a left turn to the Woodworker’s Bridge. To the naked eye and the inobservant mind, this was any other back road bridge over the river, but when the sun hits the horizon at the right moment, the sight would be enough to take anyone's breath away. 

She shot a quick look over the horizon, watched the sun blindingly reflect over the water and felt the irritation in her eyes. Blake sighed and gripped the steering wheel. Maybe, the horizon only looked better in red, when the setting sun would make it look like the skies were on fire. As soon as the sun disappeared, the cold night air would pull her back to safety of reality, where the sun was either blinding or the nights were too dark. 

This was one of her secrets. It wasn't as if she would openly tell people about the things that took her breath away. Insignificant pieces of personal information weren't practical unless it was a favorite color, a preference, a dislike- basically, anything that can help. Sunsets over the Vale River by the Woodworker's Bridge were insignificant, a simple pleasure for herself and meant for 

only herself. 

Besides, the hideout was something she had shared with the rest of her friends, but some days, she just wanted to share it with Velvet. 

She stepped on the accelerator, thankful for the lack of other vehicles as she turned into the highway. The streets were clear of vehicles at 3:42PM on a Thursday afternoon, especially heading out of city limits. Tomorrow night, the road would be teeming with cars driving up to Barthel Hill. Tomorrow night, Barthel Hill or Vale's "Makeout Point" would be littered with fogged up cars, the air smelling of cigarettes, alcohol and sex. The debauchery would last well into the wee hours of Sunday morning, until good-natured folks would drive out the last of the hedonist teenagers back to academia, but not before they cleaned up the weekend mess. 

Barthel Hill had become some sort of a tourist attraction now, a landmark. There was even a sign, safety railings, a makeshift concession stand and the clamor for the perfect parking spaces. Blake thought it wouldn't take six months before some small-scale establishment would open nearby or a mall would come up with the idea of building a drive-in theater like the 60s. And that wouldn't take six days before the 60s-inspired drive-in would turn sleazy. 

They drove off of the highway into a dirt road. Barthel Hill, 3.6 kilometers, the sign read. Blake braced herself for the possibility that the scraggly road was going to finally land the first strike on her car. Velvet groaned when the radio died. That usually happened whenever they would go up the hill, but she really liked that song. 

"Maybe we could plug my Scroll in for a minute or two?" Blake watched Velvet raise her Scroll in the corner of her eye, but she was unrelenting. 

"No." she said dryly, hearing the crunch of rocks and fallen leaves beneath her tires, "You're all not allowed to plug in your Scrolls for another week. We all agreed to this." 

"Come on!" Velvet guffawed, "It was one time." 

"No." Blake smiled, "You better be thankful I didn't rip the radio out." 

"As if you'd do that." Velvet turned to her and smiled, "First of all, I know this car's expensive and a gift from your parents. You may be a stone cold stickler, Blake, but I know you've got a beating heart in there somewhere, buried under layers and layers of sarcasm and cynicism." 

"That's bullshit." Blake scoffed, feeling the car tilt sideways as they made another sharp turn, "These contradicting character roles are so lame. Stop. No. I'm not the bitch with the heart of gold. I'm just a bitch." 

The radio crackled to life for a moment before giving way to Velvet's raucous laughter. Blake simply bit her lip and slumped forward. Barthel Hill was already in sight, the faded sign high on the post. Christmas lights were strung around here and there, waiting for a generator to power them up in the weekends. The makeshift concession stand in the corner was in desperate need of a repaint. 

"Stop laughing." Blake tried to sound stern, but no one was immune to Velvet's laughter, "I mean it, Velvet." 

_ Static ... ur eyes, I see... static ... go... static ... I tied... static ...  _

The two girls only laughed more, driving past the faded sign. Blake watched Makeout Point disappear in her rear-view mirror, driving further up the hill, to the end of the carved out road. She 

had been to Barthel Hill before and she vowed that the first time was going to be her last. She slowed down as they turned right off the beaten path to a barely visible one. 

It wasn't as if nobody had dared to drive through this very narrow road before. It overlooked a steep slope, promising a horrible tumble down the hill ono sharp rocks and a three-day search for corpses and personal effects. The faint tracks were already there when Coco had convinced Yatsuhashi to drive his pick-up truck through. In a drunken stupor, he followed and for lack of any rational faculties, the rest of them had hopped on and teetered on the edge of death. 

One of these days, Blake was going to have to carry a shovel and widen the road for added safety. 

She was sure that the drunken nymphomaniacs stopped right in front of Makeout Point. Truly, nobody thought about what could possibly be at the end of this road. Of course, for most people, everything ended in jostling cars in front of the safety rails. If people functioned without their libidos and drove a few more meters, they would end up right where Blake had parked her black sedan. 

It was right on the other side of the hill, away from the city and facing miles and miles of highways that stretched into endless plains, peppered with thick trees and the smell of freshly cut grass. Right in the middle was the remnant of a campfire, surrounded by misshapen rocks and willowy tree branches. Wedged between a tree stump and a mossy rock was one of Fox's worn- out folding chairs that Coco had commandeered for herself. 

The entire group would always hang out here on Wednesday or Thursday nights, right before the sexual electricity would loom over Barthel Hill. This was their private space where they poked fun at each other, talked about their plans for the future and confided with one another, over the warm fire licking at their cheeks and cold beer or simply fizzy soda and pizza. 

This was their little paradise, braving death and terror for a sliver of peace and a corner where they could just exist. This little clearing and the greens that stretched on below had witnessed plenty of their heartaches, listened to Coco's frustrations, to Yatsuhashi's accomplishments, to Fox's disappointments, to Velvet's dreams and Blake's skepticism. All these out in the open between them and heaven. 

Today, however, Blake needed heaven for her own selfish gain. Blake needed heaven to herself and the only other witness she trusted to hold her hand through this was Velvet. She moved to the edge, positioned herself for the endless plains and highways to see her, to hear her. 

Velvet silently followed her to the edge, a step behind her, reassuring Blake that yes, she was there for her, but she also wanted to give her the space she needed. It wasn't every day that Blake Belladonna, skeptic, cynic and the bitch with the heart of gold, would allow the universe to glimpse her secrets. 

For Blake Belladonna, the truth - the truth she believed in - was that her heart, whatever its color may truly be, was broken and today, Velvet and their sliver of heaven would bear witness to the heartache that came pouring out of her eyes and reverberated from her lips.


	5. Misfit and Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang tries to return to her own brand of normal with everything her father left behind.

Yang Xiao Long loved her long, blonde hair. 

She loved her hair so much that no other person could ever touch it without her permission. Nobody could tell her to get a haircut. No, Yang Xiao Long had to decide that for herself and even then, it would take two days of mental and emotional preparation to get herself over to the nearest salon. 

When she would be at work, her hair would always be in a ponytail. Animals wouldn't understand the no-touching-Yang's-hair rule, so she had to take it upon herself to ensure that they won't be able to do it. 

A big chunk of her salary went to hair care products and she changed brushes and combs as regularly as she would change her toothbrush. Falling hair was not a problem. Yang would never allow it. 

Yes, Yang Xiao Long loved her hair. 

But right now, she was this close to pulling them out of her scalp. 

The halls of Beacon University were packed with students rushing to and from their classes; to department buildings; to whichever cafeteria was closest, they all had the same stale food; to campus restaurants with a menu that was a little pricey, but at least it was warm. It may be only two-twenty-eight in the afternoon, but the bar just outside of campus was overflowing with students. Forget the cafes. 

Yang dragged her feet across the pavement outside of the Marks Building, groaning as she felt her transparent envelope slide out of her grip. School stuff is in the front, legal stuff is in the back , she kept repeating to herself. This would be a little bit easier if she would just go out and get a new plastic envelope altogether. Besides, she could afford it now. 

Her friends followed her closely, a few steps behind as they weaved in and out of body traffic. 

This was a regular sight for Lie Ren, always walking so stiffly behind while constantly glancing at a book or a pamphlet or a flier to a yard sale in his hands. The strange thing was that Nora Valkyrie, the girl who mildly understood personal space and was proficient in stepping into it, was not in Yang’s personal space, nor was she close to it. 

Yang turned around, feeling the strap of her messenger bag tug her olive utility jacket. It was her favorite jacket; faded enough to look a little brown, but she knew it used to be green. It was one of the first things she had purchased in her new life. 

Vale was colder than Patch, a little darker too. The tall buildings and the gray pavements weren’t unfamiliar sights, but Yang had never lived in a highly urbanized area for too long before. The longest she had done so was when she stayed with Raven for an entire week for her thirteenth birthday. 

Yang had spent that week locked up in the guest room of her mother’s apartment. There were moving boxes piled high in the living room and the eternal smell of burnt toast looming in the kitchen. 

It wasn’t at all too bad. Raven actually drove her to the arcade or the mall and then picked her up after an hour or two. Her mother had paid little attention to her, but she was never out of Yang’s sight or not within reach. When the week was done and Taiyang and Ruby had driven out to pick her up, Yang was more than happy to go. 

Raven had just shrugged and slipped back into her new home. 

Yang tamped down the memories. She pulled her bag in front of her and tried to stuff the envelope inside, but it was an inch too wide to even fit into the opening. She wished she had brought a different bag, a bigger one. The fact that she had to carry the envelope around defeated a bag’s purpose. 

Yang eyed her friends and whined, still tugging on the strap of her bag, “You guys walk so slow. I am amazed.” 

"And you need to slow down." Ren folded his arms over his chest and shared a look with Nora, "You've been running around a lot." 

"Leftover energy." Yang rolled her eyes, feeling herself itching to move around. 

She curled her free hand into a fist and imagined punching Ozpin in the face. He had promised to help her take care of the legal things like a good lawyer and, given another two days, she'll be back in time for the first week of university. Come day one, Yang was just about to park her car in front of Ozpin's office when he had called to tell her that something had come up and gave her a list of things to do. 

On the fourth day, Yang had suggested that she could come back on Christmas break and tie up loose ends, but Ozpin had said it would be best to finish everything now so that she wouldn't have to return soon. 

She believed him. 

Yang imagined driving her fist into his mouth then punching herself in the gut. 

She had stayed in Patch two whole weeks instead of the promised two days. She called Ms. Delaney and apologized, ready to snap a picture of herself begging to keep her job at Noola's. Her boss was much kinder than she had expected; she told Yang she understood, told her that she 

could take as long as she needed. 

Need. 

Yang didn't need the part-time job anymore, to be honest. One of her stressful trips to Ozpin's office had been a look into the sale of the dojo. The Sun Dragon Dojo was quite the draw when Yang was much younger. About a decade ago, action films had incorporated martial arts and then the video games followed. 

Everyone wanted to fight like Li Kong-San and Chow Lianjie and Taiyang Xiao Long was there to teach every chump in Patch. The patrons came in hordes and so did the acclaim, the publicity and the sponsorship. 

Small wonder why Ed jumped at the chance to have sole ownership of the establishment and the brand. Yang swore her eyes were just about to pop out of her skull when she saw Ed’s final check for the purchase. 

On top of that, there was the matter of selling their home in Patch. Ozpin had told her that a realtor had assessed the value of their property. The selling price wasn’t as eye-popping as the dojo’s, but it was more than half of it. 

Yang and Ruby could live in luxury for the next three years, if they wanted. That would be a poor decision, but the financial security meant she could pay her rent on time. It also meant she wouldn’t have to grovel at Raven’s feet for a little help with the university fees. 

Still, Yang couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling in her chest. 

She wanted to just sell their old house and let it be a distant memory, but there was this little part of her, a voice inside her head, begging her to hold on to a home she might not even return to. The unpleasant memories that she had recently unearthed did little to tip the scales. 

Yang Xiao Long was torn. 

But these days, the numerous good memories she had under that roof couldn’t drown out that single horrible moment before Yang left, and, maybe, all of the other unspoken emotions that festered beneath the nuclear family image their father strived for them to be. 

They weren’t a nuclear family. They were a mess. 

"Didn't you say you weren't coming back until you were done there?" Nora trotted over towards her and nudged her thigh with her bag, "Apparently, you lied since you're still lugging around that thing." 

"My schedule's in here..." Yang all but threw herself, face-first, onto the nearest empty bench, feeling the wood press into her skin, "and my certificates and all that junk. I didn't lie. I just didn't know how much work there is with this inheritance crap." 

"You do have a lawyer, right?" Nora scrunched up her face and sat beside her, pushing one of Yang’s leg to clear a space for herself, "Aren't they supposed to be, you know, helpful?" 

"Crap lawyer wants me to keep coming back." Yang groaned, "I'd rather sleep under the library desks with all the mold." 

"Gross!" Nora chimed. 

“How do you even know there’s mold under the library desks?” Ren shook his head. 

“I tried sleeping there one time. Freshman year.” Yang sat up right for a moment and smiled up at him, “It’s as gross as you think it is.” 

“You’re gross.” Nora groaned. 

Ren stepped closer and Yang had to crane her neck to look up at him. He was about to lecture her on her weird sleeping habits and poor choice of places to snooze. She was sure of it. The library may be a temple to him, but Yang had caught him snoring into a dusty textbook several times four months ago. 

“But that was it?” he asked her, his head tilted to the side and confusion etched across his face, “You got your father’s money and you’re selling your old house?” 

"Yup." Yang bit back the chuckle in her throat. She knew where this conversation was going to go. She looked right at him, into the his squinting pink eyes and the way he rubbed his chin when he was deep in thought. 

"But aren't you going to miss the place?" 

Bingo. 

Yang sighed, pushed herself off the bench and inhaled as deeply as her lungs would allow. Nora got up too, prepared to follow Yang and pull Ren to wherever Yang Xiao Long would take them next. 

Yang slowly moved forward, adjusting the strap of her bag and noting how closely her friends followed, "Of course, I would. I have tons of great memories there. Dude, I grew up there. But..." 

They walked in silence. Yang chewed on her lower lip, memorizing the cracks on the pavement beneath her feet, grateful that Ren and Nora gave her at least a little bit of time to mull things over. She had thought this through. Every single time Ozpin would bring up the house in Patch, to try and convince her to keep it, the answer was always the same. Let it go. 

"But?" Ren drawled behind her. 

Yang held back her giggle. Even Ren was too curious about her predicament that he couldn't stand the suspense. Nora was probably buzzing with impatience, if Yang would just turn around to see it. 

"But!" Yang stopped and turned on her heel, watching as Nora collided face-first into Ren's shoulder, "That house is four walls of sadness, too. It's practically a shrine to all my father's lost loves. I don't want it. I don't want a reminder of all the bad stuff." 

"But what about your good memories there?" Nora's voice was so small, so very unlike her, so very much like her at the same time, "You just gonna throw all that away too?" 

"We're young." Yang laughed, "We'll make new ones. Besides, the past is always gonna be there. It's not like I'm gonna get conked in the head, lose all my memories and we're going to go on an adventure getting it back." 

"Who says we'll help you?" Nora furrowed her brows and looked at Ren. 

"Who says we'd want you to get your memories back if you lose them?" Ren stared into the distance. 

Yang felt warmth spreading over her chest at the sight of these two, fidgeting with whatever piece 

of clothing their hands could reach, avoiding eye contact with her. She could see Nora's lip twitch a little. Ren could hold his own in these kinds of practical jokes, but not for too long. If Nora wouldn't break out in guffaws in the next minute, Ren was going to be the one to giggle all the way home. 

"Who says you guys even have a choice?" Yang tried her damned hardest to sound serious, or even amusing, but she couldn’t help the fondness that wrapped itself around her empty threat. 

The three of them laughed as they headed for the parking lot across the Hannah Turing Library. They had spent many weeks holed up in the library in the last semester, buried under piles of lecture notes and textbooks. Later on, they discovered that nobody really liked parking across the building because of how far away it was from the other department buildings. Yang, Ren and Nora found it taxing, at first, but eventually, they enjoyed their trek towards the library. 

There were a few vacant lots that surrounded the parking area. Most of the time, there weren’t much people there, save for study groups that preferred to be outdoors; some theater students would use the wide open space for a mini rehearsal if the frisbee boys weren’t around. 

Today, it was teeming with overzealous teens. There were cars parked haphazardly over the grass, radios blasting electro-pop music with those really cool bass drops. Dozens of people had flocked to their sacred space, loudly chatting and taking mini-reunion selfies on the vacant lots. 

Yang was pretty sure that the librarian could hear the noise from her safe haven, ready to pop an artery. 

The three of them spotted two guys clad in white tank tops and brightly colored snapbacks, bopping to the beat that shook their car windows. They were handing out neon pink flyers to whoever came close to their orbit, flirting with the girls and chanting with the boys. 

“... Wanna get some!” the guys put their hands up and hollered, howling and dancing around like animals on the loose. 

Yang rolled her eyes and groaned. In any other day, she would probably strike up a conversation to find out what all the hoopla was about, but her pent-up irritation at Ozpin had left her with a short fuse and brittle patience. 

“Why do they have to advertise here of all places?” Yang ground her teeth and marched forward, ignoring how the sweaty guy with the dirty blond hair winked at her. 

Yang, Nora and Ren had made it past the car party. They were on their way to their own cars, parked right across the street and ready to be taken to the nearest, cheapest burger joint at the edge of town. 

“Hey!” a deep voice shouted over the song’s chorus, “Party at the Lambda house this Friday. You better bring more booze or bring more chicks to get in.” 

The boys hooted and whistled the same time the music stopped. 

Yang wanted to break into a run and quickly drive out of campus. She imagined lassoing a sweaty tank top guy and dragging him behind her yellow hatchback as she did so. She berated herself for watching too much westerns. 

“Hey, Xiao Long!” the sweaty tank top guy made his way towards them, holding out a crumpled pink flyer. 

“Hi.” Yang breathed out. She was a little surprised that he knew her last name. A part of her 

wanted to at least ask for his name, but the closer he got to her, the less inclined she was to inquire. 

“You coming to the party this Friday?” he asked, fanning Yang with the flyers, “I can get you and... your friends there, if you’d like.” 

“That’s nice.” Yang didn’t miss the way he cast a look at Ren and Nora behind her. She wanted to turn him down as politely as her patience allowed. 

“Of course, you get in for free.” he laughed as he stared straight into her eyes and licked his lips, “Getting those two in is gonna cost you.” 

Sweaty snapback guy motioned between her and himself and then slowly grabbed his crotch. As if that wasn’t clear enough, he proceeded to bite his lip and pump his hips forward. Yang could hear the other guys cackling and cheering in the back. 

This wasn’t the first time this type of thing happened before. Yang Xiao Long wasn’t a stranger to this kind of treatment, this kind of appraisal. She felt dirty all of a sudden. She felt anger building up from her stomach and tingling to the tips of her fingers. 

She did not spend all those afternoons in her father’s dojo for nothing. Despite the heckles and the discouragement, Yang had gone there and trained since she turned twelve. At first, it was to show the boys in school that she could take any one of them down. Mostly, it was to defend herself for when “no” wasn’t enough. 

Yang bit her tongue instead, hoping that should be the end of it, “That’s very kind of you, but I’m too poor for shit.” 

Sweaty snapback guy stopped laughing and straightened himself. He nodded and presented a flyer for her to take. 

Yang felt relief wash over her. She thanked the universe for the progress its inhabitants are taking. She held out a hand and tried to grasp the piece of paper, but had only met air. The guy had pulled the flyer away at the last minute and snorted. 

“Hey, I’m not a bad guy. I’ll cut you a discount. How about I take a peek at your knockers and we’ll call it even, huh?” 

So much for progress. 

Yang stared at him and felt the fury rising to her cheeks. She watched his smile widen and his chest rising as he guffawed, amused by his own excuse of a joke. A small part of her, buried deep down, felt so vulnerable, felt so small, so weak. She hated how all her strength and courage could be struck down by one nasty joke. 

She could hear the other boys cheering and making more lewd comments, but the anger rattled in her skull. She squared her jaw and tightened her fist. Yang drew her closed fist back and watched the color drain from the guy’s face and his jaw go slack. 

The pink flyers scattered above them as Yang’s fist collided with his face. The snapback fell to the ground before he did. Yang stood over him and watched as he rolled around on the grass, clutching at his eye and blindly collecting the fallen flyers. 

“How do you like my knockers now?” Yang shouted. 

The other guy scrambled to help his friend, cursing at Yang as they stumbled back to their cars. 

Yang didn’t bother moving, still rooted to the spot as the cars quickly backed out to the road and sped in the opposite direction. Her knuckle was aching and she swallowed the lump in her throat. 

She shut her eyes to keep the tears from falling and counted to ten. She kept her breathing even, tried to stop her heart from pumping. 

No doubt the tank top boys would run home to the Lambda house and tell their brothers and, eventually, the whole school. Word will spread like wildfire, about how that crazy bitch Yang Xiao Long punched poor what’s-his-name after being so nice to invite her to the party. 

Yang opened her eyes and watched the passersby scurry away with horrified looks on their faces. 

“Wow.” she heard Nora say. 

“That was...” Ren walked over to Yang’s side and wrapped an arm around Yang’s shoulder, “He was a jerk.” 

“Yeah!” Nora ran past them and scooped up a discarded flyer from the ground, “I would’ve punched harder. Or... you know, broken his legs. But, that was pretty amazing.” 

Yang sighed, “At least I got to punch someone.” 

Nora hopped and skipped towards Yang, the flyer in her hand and resignation in her bright blue eyes. Her usual air of mischief was gone. There was only recognition and understanding. Nora smiled a little bit and gently wrapped her arms around Yang’s waist. 

Nora’s next words were muffled by Yang’s shoulder, “If he ever comes back—” 

“We’ll break his legs together.” Ren offered with a slight chuckle. He gave Yang’s shoulder one last squeeze before he stepped away. 

Nora didn’t extract herself from the hug. She turned Yang around, her arms tighter around Yang’s waist as she took a few clumsy steps backwards. Yang followed as best as she could, hoping that she wouldn’t accidentally step on Nora’s toes. 

They hadn’t gotten a few inches further when Nora disentangled herself from Yang and walked between her and Ren. It was almost as if nothing had just happened, as if Yang hadn’t just punched a guy in the face. 

It was scary how things easily return to normal sometimes. 

When the three of them reached the edge of the sidewalk, they could hear a voice shouting for them, desperate to catch their attention. It sounded strained and struggling to catch up to them. 

“Hey!” the voice shouted, “Hey, Ren!” 

In the corner of her eye, Yang saw Lie Ren stop in his tracks and turn to the voice moving closer. She would have kept moving, to finally cross the street to her yellow hatchback, but Nora had grabbed a handful of her jacket sleeve and spun her around. 

Just one look at the pastel orange bowling shirt and ripped jeans jogging towards them made Yang want to tackle Nora to the ground and run for the hills. 

“Shit.” Yang had only managed to take half a step forward before Nora blocked her way, a shit- eating grin on her face. 

“Hi, guys!” the bowling shirt’s hand shot up to tame his light blond hair, “Thanks for waiting for me.” 

“Always a pleasure, Jauney boy!” Nora giggled and nudged Yang towards him. 

Jaune Arc. The scrawny guy who liked wearing oversized shirts and ripped jeans that were a size too small for him. Word on campus was, he was in love with any girl who breathed. Desperate. Strained and wheezing. 

“Hey, Nora!” he gave a small wave towards Nora. The moment his eyes met Yang’s, he quickly looked away and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “Hi, Yang. I didn’t see you there.” 

Yang groaned and crossed her arms, “Ewww, vomit boy.” 

Ren inched closer to Yang and nudged her with his elbow. Yang grumbled as he flashed a warm smile at Jaune. Nora just beamed at the exchange, delighted with the possibility of where this conversation might go. 

Yang didn’t want to find out. She had lost all interest in going out now. She wanted to just crawl into her bed, take a nap and then maybe make chicken fingers for dinner. 

“You better back off.” Nora clapped her hands over Yang’s shoulders, “Honeybunch here just decked a guy. Major black eye.” 

Honeybunch?I 

“Now’s not a good time.” Ren cocked his head to the side. 

Ren waved his hand to signal a goodbye, but Jaune must not have realized that he was being dismissed. Jaune raised his hands in surrender and took one giant step closer to the group, close enough for Yang to smell his cheap chocolate-scented body cologne. 

“I’m really not in the mood, Arc.” Yang took half a step back and watched the boy sweat and panic. 

“I’m not here to ask you out.” Jaune’s voice rose an octave, “I saw Dove talking to you earlier.” 

“And you didn’t see him getting punched in the face?” Nora laughed. 

Yang glared at her, hoping one look could silence her. Nora liked to talk and sometimes she would run her mouth and piss people off, if she wasn’t too careful. 

Jaune gulped audibly, moving a little bit away from the group, “I... saw that. And I saw that you have an invitation to the party this Friday.” 

“You mean this?” Nora raised the crumpled piece of paper in front of Jaune. 

Jaune’s bright blue eyes were as big as saucers. He lifted a hand to grab hold of the flyer, but Nora pulled it away to scan it for herself. Yang could see the hand-drawn map at the bottom of the paper. There was a sharp cut at the very bottom, probably from when the tank top boys photocopied the original invitation. 

“I didn’t know you go to frat parties.” Ren shrugged. 

“That’s the old me.” Jaune cut at the air in between himself and Ren with his hand, “The old me would just talk a big game and get shot down every other day. The old me would grovel and beg 

just to get one date with you.” 

He shot Yang a pained look with his last words. He was probably hoping that Yang would miraculously change her mind and go on a date with him. 

This wasn’t the first time this happened. This wasn’t even the fifth. Jaune Arc had pursued her since the first time the two of them met. At first, it was endearing and it hurt Yang to have to turn a nice guy down. The second time was hopeful, Yang could tell, but the following times were getting more and more annoying. 

Yang Xiao Long had been asked to dinner dozens and dozens of times since she moved to Vale, but she was no stranger to rejection. She had been rejected in middle school by a boy who didn’t like her unladylike nature. In junior high school, a guy told her he wouldn’t want to date a girl who was taller than himself. In high school, she had asked a girl to the dance, but said girl didn’t like Yang that way. 

The last rejection felt like it happened only yesterday and, at the same time, like a lifetime ago. Yang sat next to her in the back row. She would always be early, reading her text book whenever Yang showed up a few minutes late. 

The girl was pretty. She was mysterious and seemed cold. Yang was initially reluctant to even talk to her, but there weren’t any seats left and her long black hair smelled like fresh flowers. She paid Yang no mind. She said nothing when Yang accidentally elbowed her. 

She actually smiled. Just a little bit. 

And it made Yang so nervous all of a sudden. 

It also made Yang extremely aware of herself. She had stopped herself from humming too loudly on a few occasions, doodled less and paid more attention to their professor. Yang felt so proud when she had lent the girl a pencil one morning and had mustered up enough courage to ask for her name. 

Blake Belladonna. 

Things had gotten far more complicated after that. Asking for her name was only the beginning. Yang Xiao Long wanted to know more and so she asked, and so Blake Belladonna answered as best as she could. It was fine for a while, until it wasn’t, until one question became more urgent, more demanding of an answer. 

So, one morning, Yang made sure to leave her apartment early, to stop by the shop outside of the university and pick up a bunch of flowers that smelled like her hair. Yang was a walking mass of hair and nerves, teeth chattering and throat growing dry. She practiced her lines on her way to the lecture hall, but the moment those golden eyes had met hers, Yang lost all train of thought. 

Unfortunately, the answer was much more trivial than Yang had expected. Blake had a boyfriend. It was simple. It wasn’t exactly a no, but it was clear and straight to the point. Blake had a boyfriend and she was not going to go gret dinner with her. 

Yang tried her best to seem unfazed. That wasn’t the first time she had been rejected, but that didn’t stop the sinking feeling in her chest that had only gotten worse when she saw the pity gleaming in Blake’s eyes. 

So, Yang Xiao Long pretended that it never happened. She went back to the flower shop the following morning and asked for a handbook on starting your own garden. Blake looked confused 

when Yang had handed it to her, but she accepted the bribe nonetheless. 

Forget that it ever happened. 

That was the end of it. Or at least that was supposed to be the end of it. Gossip spreads fast, like wildfire and Blake’s friends weren’t the forgetting type. Now, a year after that morning, Yang was still subject to a few taunts and jabs from Coco fucking Adel, Beacon’s A-list princess. 

It didn’t matter to her that Yang had already moved on. Or at least tried to. 

“No means no, Jaune.” Nora cut through Yang’s thoughts and waved the piece of paper in front of Jaune, “You can take this and leave us alone now.” 

Nora shoved the pink flyer into Jaune’s hand. Yang, Ren and Nora watched as he turned the crumpled piece of paper, scanning it for any signs of damage. True enough, a huge part of the invitation had been torn away, probably from when the boys retreated from Yang. 

“I swear I’ve moved on.” Jaune echoed Yang’s thoughts, frowning at the useless flyer, “In fact, the only reason I even want to go to the Lambda house party is this girl I met in Middleton Assembly Hall yesterday.” 

“So, you saw this new girl get invited to the party?” Ren inquired, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Yes.” Jaune faced the three of them and beamed, “Please, Yang, you’re my only hope of getting into this party and actually talking to this girl.” 

Yang stared at him for a moment. She watched the way Jaune’s nostrils flared in his excitement, noted the dried toothpaste stain on the collar of his bowling shirt. Even if she wanted to help Jaune chase this semester’s potential girlfriend, Yang had picked a fight with one of the Lambda boys. 

“And what do you expect me to do?” Yang sighed. 

Jaune didn’t share Yang’s hopelessness and exhaustion. His smile had grown wider and he even found the courage to take one step closer to the three of them. He crushed the pink flyer in one hand and then shoved it into his jean pocket. 

“You’ve got popular friends.” Jaune declared, “I’ve seen you and the Coco Adel talk a few times. Maybe she can—” 

Yang scoffed, “Coco and I aren’t friends.” 

“Come on, Yang!” Jaune whined. 

“A frat party? Seriously?” Yang studied Jaune once again. He was a scrawny guy who liked wearing oversized bowling shirts. There was no way that the Chi Rho Delta Lambda boys would even let him step on their front lawn. 

“Just walk through the front door.” Nora said matter-of-factly, “No one’s gonna notice you.” 

“I think they have bouncers.” Ren said flatly. 

“Are you kidding me, Ren?” Jaune swiftly pulled his hands out of his pockets and waved them around, “They are bouncers. If I manage to sneak into the house — which is very unlikely — those big, bulky gu— men are going to throw me outside.” 

“I’d love to help you,” Yang lied and shook her head, “but, really, Coco Adel and I aren’t 

friends.” 

“Yeah, Coco doesn’t like her very much because Blake doesn’t like her.” Nora teased. 

“What the fuck, Nora?” Yang glared at Nora, but was met with an apologetic smile. 

“How about that Wukong guy?” Jaune prodded, “Your friends with him. I bet he was invited, even though he isn’t officially a Lambda.” 

“Oh yeah.” Nora intoned. Ren nodded. 

“Yeah, no. Where monkey boy goes, the blue boy follows.” Yang shook her head. 

“She and the blue boy went on a date once.” Nora whispered to Jaune, albeit a little too loudly and a little too deliberately. 

“Nora!” 

Yang turned to Nora, to get her friend to shut up and end the conversation. Before Yang could lift a foot off the ground, Jaune had the audacity to pull her back by the strap of her back. Yang was dizzy from the sudden movement. She was also surprised that Jaune was actually strong enough to keep her from leaving. 

“Yang Xiao Long,” Jaune pleaded, “I am begging you. Please. This girl could be it. She could be the one.” 

The way he said it so hopefully, so reverently had made Yang pause. Here was Jaune Arc, the guy who had been rejected more times than anyone could count, probably by more girls than anyone had ever met, yet here he was, undeterred by rejection. Foolish, he may seem, but courageously optimistic despite everything. 

But Yang had heard those words before. She had heard Jaune Arc utter those very same sentiment about another girl. 

“That’s what you said about me last year.” Yang raised an eyebrow and watched beads of sweat forming over Jaune’s brow. 

Yang was expecting him to shrink, to come up with a hundred excuses that she, too, would come up with for herself. Instead, he straightened himself, squared his shoulders and looked right into her eyes with the most confidence he has ever displayed. 

“I know what I said.” he began, his chest puffed out to emphasize his point, “I know I may be some skinny loser who is so out of his league, with you, with every girl on campus, but — the moment I saw her — I just... I can’t just let her go without at least trying. You know?” 

Maybe, the difference between herself and Jaune was, he had a high tolerance for pain. Or maybe, he was detached; his heart was in a glass box, beating to seem as if it were capable of feeling something other than yearning. 

This felt like a cruel twist of fate. How many times in a month should Yang feel as if she was responsible for the well-being and happiness of other people? Should she even help Jaune sneak into the party to win the girl of his dreams? Or should she leave it to fate and watch his hopes get crushed again? 

She was, as he had said, his only hope and hope was a bitch sometimes. 

Still, Yang couldn’t help but feel that she deserved a chance. Maybe if she helped Jaune out with his lady problems, the universe would smile down on her and help her out with her own. v

It couldn’t possibly hurt to help Jaune. All she had to do was find someone who could bring the guy along with them into the party. Yang might not be friends with Coco Adel, but she worked with Velvet. 

This would be easy. 

“Alright. Fine.” Yang conceded. 

Jaune’s jaw dropped a moment before a smile crept onto his face. He clapped his hands and jumped in the air, punching at nothing. Jaune spun himself around and laughed. His gaze landed on Yang and, without hesitation, he lunged himself at her and wrapped her neck in a tight embrace. 

“Get off me.” Yang pushed him away from her as gently as possible, “I will find a way, vomit boy, and until I can get you that invite, you stay away from me. You got it?” 

“Got it!” Jaune repeated, “Oh, thank you so much, Yang. I swear, I will worship the ground you walk on.” 

Yang groaned as she watched Jaune Arc run back to wherever he had come from. Ren and Nora exchanged knowing looks and broke into a fit of giggles. Yang just looked at them. Without a word, they proceeded to the parking lot in front of the library. 

“You know,” Yang slowed down, feeling for her car keys in her pockets, “you guys are assholes.” 

“Come on, Yang!” Nora whined, holding Yang’s cursed folder for her while she rummaged through her bag, “Jaune’s a pretty harmless guy.” 

“I wonder who his new mystery girl is.” Ren deftly pulled his car keys from the back pocket of his jeans. 

Yang sighed as she struggled to pull the small object from underneath a worn out notebook, “Don’t bother. It could be a foreign exchange student or a fire hydrant in a frilly white dress. The guy falls in love too easily.” 

“He’s not hurting anybody.” Nora handed Yang back her folder and skipped over to Ren’s side, “He doesn’t look like he’d hurt a fly.” 

Yang scrunched up her nose and slid the key into her car door. The remote had ran out of juice some time ago and she hadn’t found the chance to get it replaced. 

“That’s what they say about serial killers.” Yang pulled the door open and unceremoniously dumped her belongings into the passenger’s seat, “That’s their advantage and before you know it, you’re being choked with your grandmother’s scarf.” 

“You’ve been watching too many cop shows.” Nora shouted as she approached a white SUV, yanking the passenger door open until Ren tapped on his remote. 

Yang leaned against her window, wedged in between the door and the driver’s seat. She watched Ren climb into his seat and put on his seatbelt. Nora had straightened the mirror on her side before she pulled her seatbelt and grinned at Yang. 

This was a regular occurrence for the two of them, a sort of ceremony. Lie Ren was very particular about safety. Yang had watched them do this countless times before that, eventually, she did the same. 

Not that she disliked wearing seatbelts. It’s just that it was never her priority before Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie burrowed themselves into her life. 

“Nah,” Yang smiled as she heard the SUV’s engine start, “it’s actually from one of the books Ren gave me last Christmas.” 

“The one with the time traveling killer?” Ren cocked his head and returned her smile. 

“Yeah, that one, with the ancient house.” Yang ducked into her seat and quickly put her seatbelt on. She felt the nervousness ebb away when her beat-up yellow hatch back’s engine started on the first try. 

“Drive safe, Yang!” Ren said as he maneuvered his car out of the parking space. 

Nora poked her head out of the window and grinned, “See you Friday, Xiao Long! Prepare to get beat.” 

Yang simply smiled at them as they drove off ahead of her, perhaps to the burger joint on the other side of town or back to their own home. 

After today’s events, Yang couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment and take one glorious nap — a brief moment of respite — before diving back into the demands of reality. She deserved an hour to herself after all that’s happened in the last few weeks. 

But first, she was going to have to pay a visit to the girl next door. 


	6. Fourth Days, Fortnights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang figures out a way to get into the Lambda party and she gets messages from her near-estranged mother.

The ride had gone smoothly; the parking space was right in front of her. Just a couple more feet and she was going to be right where she wanted to be. She smiled to herself, pride swelling in her cheeks. She gently placed her foot on the brakes, hoping to cruise to a stop, but the engine died just a foot shy of where she intended to be. 

"Fuck." Yang Xiao Long cursed under her breath, cheeks now warm from a growing fury. "I fucking hate you. What the fuck? Fuck." 

She twisted the key in the ignition, willing the 'old girl' to comply for one more measly foot before she can die on Yang for the fourth time that day. But there was no movement. Not a single inch. Her yellow hatchback had decided that right now was a good time to be deadweight. 

Yang slipped out of the driver's seat and walked to the back, hands pressed against the door. She thought that she really needed to get back in shape if she was going to have to push an almost two-thousand pound car every day. 

That was the cheaper alternative than actually getting a new one. She entertained the thought of driving a brand new car, but not the act of pulling her finances together and going to the nearest car shop for this year’s cheapest model. 

She may be a whole lot richer than she had been last month, but she didn’t exactly have enough money to go around chasing the new car smells. After all, there was a sixteen-year-old girl waiting for her in her apartment and neither of them liked it. 

Yang laid her hands flat on the back of the car and sucked in as much air as she could as she pushed the 900kg piece of metal forward. When she was satisfied that her beat-up hatchback was now within the designated parking space, she pressed her face against the back windshield, feeling the coolness seep into the heat of her face. 

The ride had gone smoothly; the parking space was right in front of her. Just a couple more feet and she was going to be right where she wanted to be. She smiled to herself, pride swelling in her cheeks. She gently placed her foot on the brakes, hoping to cruise to a stop, but the engine died just a foot shy of where she intended to be. 

"Fuck." Yang Xiao Long cursed under her breath, cheeks now warm from a growing fury. "I fucking hate you. What the fuck? Fuck." 

She twisted the key in the ignition, willing the 'old girl' to comply for one more measly foot before she can die on Yang for the fourth time that day. But there was no movement. Not a single inch. Her yellow hatchback had decided that right now was a good time to be deadweight. 

Yang slipped out of the driver's seat and walked to the back, hands pressed against the door. She thought that she really needed to get back in shape if she was going to have to push an almost two-thousand pound car every day. 

That was the cheaper alternative than actually getting a new one. She entertained the thought of driving a brand new car, but not the act of pulling her finances together and going to the nearest car shop for this year’s cheapest model. 

She may be a whole lot richer than she had been last month, but she didn’t exactly have enough money to go around chasing the new car smells. After all, there was a sixteen-year-old girl waiting for her in her apartment and neither of them liked it. 

Yang laid her hands flat on the back of the car and sucked in as much air as she could as she pushed the 900kg piece of metal forward. When she was satisfied that her beat-up hatchback was now within the designated parking space, she pressed her face against the back windshield, feeling the coolness seep into the heat of her face. 

She stood like that for a moment. If only life was this simple. Pushing a car that’s supposed to carry you places isn’t exactly easy living, but at least the old girl would start again after a little while. But sometimes, in the real world, when you’re dead, you’re dead; your life story is being written off as they lower your casket to the ground. 

Whatever plot hole that remained is for your next of kin to deal with. 

Life isn’t a predictable movie with a time-tested structure nobody deviates from. It’s messy, it’s complicated and it’s downright cruel. 

On the bright side, life could actually be a little funny for Yang, once she pulled herself out of the gutter and dug for the comedic value of her tragedy. There was always something funny and Yang had learned to occupy herself in finding the punch line than wallowing in despair. 

“I love you, baby.” She whispered to her car, giving it a few affectionate pats before she pushed herself off and sighed. She really ought to visit a mechanic soon. 

Yang went back to the driver’s seat to gather all her things, keenly aware of the growing intensity of the old girl’s smell. She would have to give it a full-body wash this weekend. All hope of getting proper rest was gone. 

She stepped into the apartment complex, feeling the stuffiness of ancient and low maintenance buildings as she closed the door. The landlord, of course, was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he was tending to his succulents in the smallest backyard Yang had ever seen. 

Mr. Dormitorio, the landlord, was not a bad guy. He was pretty cool, if Yang were to be honest, once you get past his habit of referring to himself as the Father of All Succulents. 

Yang walked past the elevator. Last month, the doors had jammed and her neighbour had gotten stuck inside the piss-smelling death trap for seven whole minutes. She had no intention of testing her luck, so she jogged up the stairs, making sure not to touch the odd stains on the wall. 

Her heart was racing when she reached the second floor, but that was normal. She was feeling the strain of exercise the moment she got to the third floor. She was almost there. One more and she would be able to crawl towards her apartment door. 

She was out of breath upon making the last couple of steps to the fourth floor. She clutched her heart as she struggled towards Room 407, pulling her keys out of the pocket of her jeans with the other hand. Her legs felt like jelly and she was beginning to get lightheaded. 

Mr. Dormitorio, the landlord, was not a bad guy. He was pretty cool, if Yang were to be honest, once you get past his habit of referring to himself as the Father of All Succulents. 

Yang walked past the elevator. Last month, the doors had jammed and her neighbour had gotten stuck inside the piss-smelling death trap for seven whole minutes. She had no intention of testing her luck, so she jogged up the stairs, making sure not to touch the odd stains on the wall. 

Her heart was racing when she reached the second floor, but that was normal. She was feeling the strain of exercise the moment she got to the third floor. She was almost there. One more and she would be able to crawl towards her apartment door. 

She was out of breath upon making the last couple of steps to the fourth floor. She clutched her heart as she struggled towards Room 407, pulling her keys out of the pocket of her jeans with the other hand. Her legs felt like jelly and she was beginning to get lightheaded. 

Definitely need to work out more. 

As the keys jangled, Yang heard the sound of a door knob turning. She turned around to the apartment door, right across from hers, in time to see the door to room 409 open and one shiny white boot stepping out onto the hall. 

A smile crept across Yang’s face, “Long time no see, Princess!” 

The door to room 409 opened completely and Yang giggled to herself as she saw Weiss Schnee, Beacon University’s other A-list princess. But, unlike Coco Adel, Weiss wasn’t snobbish and enjoyed speaking with Yang, Ren and Nora from time to time. All thanks to Yang’s neighbour. 

“Call me that one more time,” Weiss raised a finger in offence and glared at Yang, “I swear I will ignore you for the rest of your sorry life.” 

“Calm down, Weiss.” Yang snorted, “It was just a joke. You know I mean it in the best of ways when I call you that.” 

“Just stop.” Weiss ran a hand down the front of her white draped blouse, clicking her boots as she spoke, “The other girls might like it when you call them that, but I don’t. It’s Weiss to you, Xiao Long. Don’t ever forget it.” 

“Please stop arguing on my front door, you two.” Pyrrha Nikos sighed, wiping her hand over her maroon and black striped sweater. She stood at five feet and eight inches — six feet in her usual heels — and with her long red hair, she looked almost like an Amazon woman. “Before Mr. Dormitorio catches us and makes us plant more cacti.” 

“I don’t even live here.” Weiss shrugged. 

“Dude don’t care.” Yang giggled, “It’s one of his get-along methods. A few of the previous 

tenants could never get along and hated gardening, so they just packed up and left.” 

“I wish you’d leave too.” Weiss stuck her tongue out at Yang. 

“Now, now, Weiss.” Pyrrha placed a hand over Weiss’ shoulder and waved the other at Yang to get her to stop talking, “Let’s all be friends... and quiet... before Mr. Dormitorio hears us.” 

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes in reluctant agreement. Yang just nodded and tried her best not to laugh at how immature Weiss Schnee could be sometimes. 

The first time Yang had met Weiss was the third time she had run into Pyrrha in the hallway. The two of them were enthusiastically talking about sights and food in Mistral. Yang couldn’t help but stare in awe at how brightly Pyrrha smiled. 

The redhead had been depressed the first few weeks that she had moved to Vale from Mistral. Yang had tried talking to her a few times, but there was nothing she could say to comfort Pyrrha. 

Until Weiss. 

Pyrrha said that they met in one of their classes. Initially, Weiss was mean and cold. She barely interacted with the rest of the class, especially when they made her family name a big deal. Pyrrha had tried to avoid her, but Weiss had mentioned a vacation trip to Mistral and Pyrrha took a leap of faith and talked about home. Eventually, Weiss talked about her home back in Atlas and a friendship was forged between the two of them.

“Where have you been?” Weiss sneered. 

“Yeah,” Pyrrha nodded, her hand still on Weiss’ shoulder, “I was going to ask you to dinner last weekend, but I didn’t get an answer.” 

Yang chewed her bottom lip. She forgot to tell Pyrrha she was leaving for a couple of days. She forgot to tell her friend and neighbour that her father had died. There wasn’t really any time to do that. Besides, she hadn’t seen Pyrrha around before she left. 

Yang didn’t know how to bring it up now. It felt strange to her. 

“I went back home to Patch.” Yang said simply. She could just talk to Pyrrha about it some other time. Besides, Yang was exhausted. 

“And you were gone for more than a week?” Weiss raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. 

“I hung out with a few old friends.” Yang lied. 

She felt bad about lying, but she wasn’t in the mood to explain or to at least talk about it, not with Weiss Schnee and not with Pyrrha Nikos, one of the it-girls at Beacon. Everyone knew who she was. Every girl wanted to be Pyrrha Nikos and every guy wanted to be with Pyrrha Nikos. 

Yang suddenly felt so small under the redhead’s expectant gaze. 

Yang was one of those who girls who wanted to be like her. At some point, Yang thought that if she was a little bit like Pyrrha, then maybe, she might have gotten a better response from Blake. Not that she knew if Blake liked Pyrrha. But everyone liked Pyrrha Nikos enough to invite her to every single party imaginable. 

Especially, the Chi Rho Delta Lambda party this Friday. 

“Hey , Pyrrha?” Yang attempted to change the subject, “You going to the party this weekend?” 

“Which party?” Pyrrha asked innocently. She must have been invited to at least three other parties happening this Friday. 

“The Lambda party.” Yang said dumbly, spinning her keys in her finger. 

“Gross.” Weiss shook her head, “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of going to that party, Yang. Those guys are a bunch of uncouth, rude jerks.” 

Pyrrha shook her head too, “No, Weiss actually invited me to a soiree at her apartment.” 

“Anybody who’s anybody is going to be there.” Weiss added with a flick of her hand. 

“Yeah.” Yang drawled as she raised an eyebrow, “But did you get invited to the Lambda party? Like, did some smelly dude give you one those pink flyers?”

“Oh, yes.” Pyrrha smiled and threw her thumb over her shoulder, “I have about seven? Eight? They’re in my bag. Would you want me to give you one?” 

“You’re seriously not going to that party, are you?” Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shot Yang a suspicious look. Her piercing blue eyes made the hair at the back of Yang’s neck stand. 

“It’s for a friend.” Yang shook her head and laughed nervously. 

“I could give you all of them.” Pyrrha smiled that same small smile that seemed to have gotten the rest of Beacon University in a daze. 

Yang stopped and titled her head to the side. On one hand, she wasn’t entirely interested in going to the Lambda party this Friday. The only reason she was even speaking to Pyrrha was because of that walking bowling shirt. On the other hand, she could show up for a while and scare the living daylights out of the guys who messed with her that day. 

Yang would say it was going to be purely out of spite, going to the Lambda party, but a small part of her was hoping that she would run into Coco Adel and her friends there. She could pop in before heading to Ren and Nora’s for game night. She could walk in with Jaune, in the guise of accompanying him, check the place out and leave. 

And if she does happen to run into a golden-eyed girl, then maybe she could stay for a little while to chat. 

If Jaune could find the balls to try and get his girl, Yang Xiao Long can too. 

“Dude, I just wanted to ask for two.” Yang laughed, carefully avoiding Pyrrha’s gaze and Weiss’ inquisitive stare. 

“Something’s wrong with you, Yang.” Weiss’s voice cut through the nervousness. 

Yang looked at the two girls staring right at her. Weiss had her arms folded over her chest, her left hand rolling up her right sleeve. Pyrrha was trying to read her as if she were an open book. 

Yang Xiao Long had always been an open book though. She had worn her heart on her sleeve. Maybe her forehead. And everybody had given her a hard time for it. She had a right to keep a few secrets to herself. 

Nobody needs to know that she was about to put herself in an awkward position. 

“Are you okay?” Pyrrha tried to reach out to her, but Yang just shook her head. 

“I’m fine.” Yang laughed, “Hey, can I get those invites tomorrow? I’m super tired and I still have to make dinner.” 

Pyrrha and Weiss shared a look. Yang couldn’t help but feel as if she had seen that look before, at the funeral, from Ozpin. Or maybe she was just truly exhausted and imagining things. Pyrrha and Weiss had always communicated on a different wavelength. 

Like cats or something. 

“Sure, Yang.” Pyrrha finally said, putting on another one of her million-lien smiles, “If you want, I can make you dinner. I was just about to—“ 

“Nah, it’s fine.” Yang raised her hands up in surrender, “I don’t want to be a bother. I’m cool. Thanks for the offer though.” 

“Anytime.” Pyrrha almost whispered, “Rest well, Yang.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Yang spun the key ring around one last time and grinned at Weiss and Pyrrha, “I’ll just knock later, okay? You take care, Prin— I mean, Weiss.” 

“Likewise.” 

Yang quickly turned around to her door, listening to Weiss’ footfalls as she made her way to the elevator. It may smell like piss, but there was no way Weiss Schnee was going to take the stairs. 

Pyrrha still hadn’t closed her door. No doubt she was still standing in the doorway, waiting for Yang to either stumble into her apartment or say something more. 

Yang fumbled with the keys. She singled out the purple snowflake sticker on one of them, picking it from the rest and slipped it into the lock. The smell of dog food pervaded her senses. Ironic since the building had a no-pets policy. 

She turned to Pyrrha one last time and grinned. The other woman reluctantly returned her smile and finally retreated into her own apartment. 

Yang sighed as she closed the door behind her, leaning against it like a lifeline. She really wasn’t going to go to the Lambda party this Friday with the slim chance of seeing Blake there, right? Her exhaustion has gotten the better of her, made her come up with rash decisions with poor excuses. 

She pushed herself off the wall and sank into a rickety red chair in the dining area, eyeing the mountain of dishes she would have to get through today. Rest is a mythical commodity, the epitome of hope to just get her through another crappy week. 

This was not a time to be thinking of another type of hope that she was banking on. Yang pushed all thoughts of unrequited affections aside and stared out into the sky outside. The sun was still bright and shining, making its bittersweet goodbye to fall. 

She sat for a good fifteen minutes, watching the clouds flitter by as she remembered summer afternoons in Patch. The sound of the wind blowing through the thick trees, dog barks and children’s footsteps in the grass. The air had smelled of the forest, leaves and afternoon dew, the smell of the earth under the sun’s unrelenting heat, of grease and baking cookies. 

Were these the good memories that Ren was getting at earlier that day? Images and sensations embedded in her mind that would have to dictate her decisions? 

There was that morning she had woken to an empty house, her parents’ closet was half-empty. Her mother had packed up and left without a word or an idea as to why little Yang would search for her in the middle of the night for the next several weeks, why Taiyang Xiao Long would find himself staring down the bottle of whiskey and the bottom of his luck. 

There was also the second time that it happened. That had been the worst, she thought. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling at the time, but with each passing day, the certainty grew stronger. 

Before Yang could scratch the surface of her current emotions, the sound of shuffling and toppled objects reined her thoughts back. She stared at the wall where the stockroom used to be. Now, it was Ruby’s temporary bedroom, minus the bed in question. 

“What was that?” Yang called out, knowing how thin the walls were, hoping to draw Ruby out of her self-imposed isolation. 

She was able to draw the girl out, but her sister said nothing. Ruby glared at her, her silver eyes had only made her look more fearsome than she truly was. Yang might be out of shape, but there was no way in all of Remnant that a girl as puny as her could ever best her. 

“You want pizza for dinner?” Yang offered. 

Ruby said nothing. She rolled her eyes and went straight for the bathroom, loudly closing the door and knocking things over. 

“What the fuck?” Yang said under her breath, too tired to even wonder if her younger sister had beef with inanimate objects or if she was truly a world-class klutz. 

Yang shut her eyes tight, groaning as she massaged her temples. Ruby had always been a little clumsy, she remembered, and Ruby had been very upset with her in the last three years. Her little sister was a lot of things and that included someone who had been very proud of her. 

She looked at the bathroom door, her thoughts drifting back to a tiny, tiny Ruby, probably around six years old, trailing after her and tagging along to all of her adventures. In all honesty, Yang had felt extremely proud of herself too, ecstatic with how Ruby thought she lit the night sky. 

Of course, change was a nightmare, depending on who was to be asked. For Yang Xiao Long, change had been a breath of fresh air, the first breeze after a decade of heat and drought. Change was revelation, a Pandora’s box of questions pouring out one after another. Oh, but the truth had reassured Yang. It had emboldened her to the point of recklessness. 

Yang pulled herself off the chair and crept up to the bathroom door. She held her hand up to knock, to get Ruby to at least come outside and pretend to want to eat something. She stopped when she heard muffled sobs from the other side. 

Two weeks and the young girl was still crying. Yang bit her lip, sighed and grabbed her things before slinking into her bedroom. She threw her belongings on top of her bed, thinking she could straighten it out later when her emotions weren’t too busy going to war with each other. 

Yang Xiao Long was a monster. 

She signed the papers in the hopes that this was going to be the one last good thing she was going to do for Ruby, but she had no idea how to take care of sixteen-year-old girl, let alone someone she had presumably abandoned three years ago. 

How did it end up like this? 

They used to be so close. They used to take sappy selfies together, long before the word was even invented. They exchanged gifts in Christmas and generally looked out for each other. When Ruby was in a bind, the first thing she would do was to find her dear old sister. 

Yang pulled the pillow from underneath her head and slammed it onto her face. She ignored the painful, itching sensation in her nose at the impact and screamed into it until her throat was sore. Ruby wouldn’t be able to hear her. Maybe if she did, she wouldn’t care. Three years of silence was a lot to make up for. 

She felt alone again. The world was spinning, the neighbours were playing loud music and everyone was really just going about their own lives, but Yang was at a stand still and wondered if there was something in that afternoon that she could change. 

It wasn’t the wish to go back, but maybe she’d find answers, a solution, an idea about how to at least get Ruby not to look at her like Yang had been the one who killed their father. 

Vagabonds by day, shelters by night. 

That was what Yang had been after she left. She was a vagabond. The home she knew had been gone long before she left. The first person she went to was Raven. Yang needed shelter and even though Raven was miffed about the situation, she had given her a place to sleep. 

When her time was up, Yang packed up and started settling into Vale, into Beacon University. It was a rough start. It was a horror film and a dream rolled into one. It was her new life and this was her new home. 

But as time went, Yang found that her new home barely felt like it. So, she went out and made some friends and had more than friends. She wandered between cliques and circles until she felt that warmth in the honesty of Lie Ren and the rowdy inclusivity of Nora Valkyrie. 

And they were vagabonds themselves. 

Yang pushed herself off the bed and stared out the window, into the near-empty street in the late afternoon sun. She wasn’t prepared for this, but she could try until she was certain of what she should be doing. 

It was time to cut herself some slack. It was time to right her wrongs and make room for improvement. It was time to be better. 

It was time for dinner. 

She fixed herself up before she headed out her room. Ruby was already seated on her lumpy couch. The tears were gone, but there were traces of their earlier presence around her eyes. She looked defiant in a way and she looked like a broken child. 

“Are you hungry yet?” Yang tried to keep voice neutral. She didn’t want the little girl to think she was mad. 

Still, Ruby said nothing. She cast a blank look at Yang then looked into a spot on the wall. 

This wasn’t permanent. It was only fifteen months and Ruby Rose would go and have the kind of life that she wanted. She could move to Mistral or she could go back to Patch and inherit the McNealys’ pharmacy. She could stay up as late as she wanted and probably have thirty dogs. 

They would have to make do. This was only temporary and they had to get along. 

“I’ll make some chicken pizza pockets.” 

Yang tilted her head and saw the smallest smile creep across Ruby’s face. It was as she’d hoped. Ruby had always loved Yang’s chicken pizza pockets. It was second to Summer Rose’s peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. 

Some things don’t really change, do they? 

These beginnings, the ones preceded by tragedy, were always rough. The last two weeks have been stressful and infuriating. No doubt, it was going to get much worse before it starts to get a little bit better. 

Yang made her way to the kitchenette and rummaged through the fridge for the ingredients. She made a mental note to get a fresh carton of milk, some bread and cheese. She would have to actually get food for the two of them now. 

This was new, terrifying and oddly exhilarating things. 

Sometime in the middle of Yang’s cooking, Ruby had gotten off the couch and slipped into the bathroom. Yang hoped that Ruby was simply freshening up and not planning to murder her with the broken hair dryer. 

Ruby was surprisingly a mousy little girl, quiet, sneaking about. She wasn’t always like that when they were younger. In fact, Ruby would be the first voice Yang would hear when they were younger; high-pitched, sweet and very enthusiastic. 

“Yang, get up. We’re gonna be late.” 

“Sam told me he thinks you’re real pretty.”

“What do you mean she’s your real mom?” 

“Hey, Yang, what’s a hickey?” 

“Yang, where do babies come from? Dad told me to ask you.” 

“I’m going to what every month?” 

“Yang, where’s mom?” 

“It’s going to be okay, Yang. I still love you.” 

“Please stay.” 

Feelings. 

They were strong and confusing and demanding. They were screaming at her, choking her until her eyes were blurry with tears. It wasn’t courage that made her stand in front of her father one summer afternoon. It was exhaustion. It was childish fears. 

Yang heard the toilet flush in the bathroom, the same time her Scroll rang out a muffled chiptune rendition of a song she loved. She rinsed her hands and stalked back to her bedroom. She emptied her bag all over her bed and watched the device fall on top of her mattress. 

_ Raven is calling...  _

Yang groaned and just let it ring. Five more rings and the call ended. Raven Branwen did not leave voicemails. It won’t be long until Yang heard the soft ding of a new message from her mother. 

You’re not answering my calls.  
Raven, 08/23/2017 6:48 PM 

Sure enough, Raven had called her four times in the last thirty minutes. Yang sighed. She did not want to call her mother back. She was sure why the older woman was so persistent in trying to speak with her. She just wished that Raven wouldn’t play mind games with her. Not tonight, at least. 

I’m sorry about your father.  
Raven, 08/23/2017 6:50 PM

Still, Yang had nothing to say. She couldn’t find a template message of “thank you for your sympathy” to use. At some point, Taiyang and Raven must have fallen in love, but love wasn’t enough to keep them together. Love was the reason for their familial mess anyway. 

Dust, I hate love.

Please tell me you didn’t do something stupid and adopted Summer’s daughter.  
Raven, 08/23/2017 6:51 PM

Yang bit her lip and felt the anger rise. She may not like the predicament she was in, but she did not need her mother’s condescension and doubt of her decisions. This was not something she wanted to do, but this was something she felt she needed to do. 

For Summer. 

She thought about sending a curt reply to appease Raven, but Yang decided against it, shutting her Scroll off and chucking it over her mattress. Right now, she had more things to worry about other than the backhanded comments of her mother and she would say if she confirmed the older woman’s suspicions. 

Yang rushed back out to the kitchen and flipped the chicken over just in time before it burnt. 


	7. Crowded Lonely Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and her friends hang out and then she has to call her boyfriend.

_ I need... static... need to ... static...  _

“Seriously, Blake?” Coco Adel groaned in the passenger’s seat, one hand reaching for the radio knob and the other one searching for her Scroll in her pockets, “We’re not going to put that stupid song on repeat anymore, okay? Just... This is so fucking cheesy.” 

Blake lightly stepped on the accelerator of her black sedan, shifting gears as they eased onto the uphill climb to Barthel Hill. She could hear Velvet snickering in the backseat, holding herself in place as the vehicle rocked back and forth. 

“No.” Blake insisted as she swatted Coco’s hand away from the radio, “I’m not taking my chances.” 

“But the radio isn’t working!” Coco shouted. 

“The signal’s coming back in a few seconds. Just be patient.” Blake quickly shot her a threatening look. 

In the corner of her eye, Coco huffed and leaned against the window. Blake somehow felt that Coco wasn’t about to try again. Velvet had stopped giggling a few moments ago, resigned to staring out into the horizon below. 

They made their way past Makeout Point to the sound of a bass guitar and a deep, sleepy voice over the radio. Coco craned her neck to see the filthy state it was in and gladly told her two companions about it. Velvet was more than happy to indulge her, but Blake simply zoned out and focused on the bittersweet melody of the song. 

She watched for any changes in the pick-up truck cruising in front of them, moving side to side from the unevenness of the dirt road. Blake kept her car a considerable distance away, fearing that Yatsuhashi might suddenly stop and finally land the first strike on the black sedan. 

The teal pick-up was slowing down, easing its way through the narrow road towards their little slice of paradise in Vale. Blake was relieved that the clearing was big enough to accommodate their vehicles the first night they went here and that it still had room for them to manuever their cars back down the hill with minimal struggle. 

Their usual treks up Barthel Hill had actually been an immense help in improving Blake’s driving. That kind of lowered the chances of her car getting scratched. Tight spaces, parallel parking, sharp turns and uphill climbs; Blake was proud of how she mastered those skills. 

Still, the thought of a tiny scrape to her car lingered when she sat behind the wheel. 

Blake parked right behind the pickup truck, about three feet away from the edge of the cliff. She hadn’t even turned her engine off when Coco jumped out of the car, slamming the door as she  strode towards the tree stump. 

Fox unloaded the red cooler from the truck’s flatbed while Yatsuhashi dragged a couple of logs to the campfire. Velvet leaned against Blake’s seat and tapped her in the shoulder before Blake could even unlatch her seatbelt. 

“You gonna be okay?” Velvet said softly, her breath warm against Blake’s cheek. 

Outside, Coco had demanded why they were taking too long. Fox and Yatsuhashi turned to look at them, but went back to straightening their seats and collecting sticks for the campfire. 

“Coco’s just being her usual self again.” Blake thought aloud, “It’s just another Thursday night.” 

“I’ll make sure none of them go overboard again.” Velvet laughed nervously as she gave Blake’s shoulder a slight squeeze, “But, sweetie, I hope you can forgive us someday for the radio thing. No one really likes listening to that sundae song anymore anyway.” 

“That’s...” Blake held her breath and caught Velvet looking at her through the rear-view mirror, “Thanks, Velvet.” 

“You two better get your fucking asses out here!” Coco huffed. 

Velvet gladly jumped out of Blake’s car, giggling as she made her way towards a smirking Coco. Blake turned back to the rear-view mirror, took one deep breath and reached for the door handle. She slipped out gracefully, pulling her coat tighter against her chest. 

About three hours into their comedic anecdotes, the group fell into a comfortable silence. The sound of the distant highway was barely audible, mixed with the rhythmic tapping of Coco’s heel against the tree branch Yatsuhashi sat on. 

The half moon was high in the night sky, sitting idly between the dim stars above the almost quiet city of Vale. 

If it weren’t for the flickering light of the campfire, Blake might not be able to see at least half of her companion’s faces. She saw Coco scratching at something on her boot, Fox was busy staring into the fire, Yatsuhashi was staring up at the stars and Velvet was quietly tinkering with her Scroll, taking whatever photo the device could take. 

And Blake? She was watching them all. 

She began to worry. Was this a normal thing to do? Everyone else seemed to be content in their little version of “doing nothing”, but Blake’s idea of doing nothing felt a bit intrusive and very much creepy. If any one of her friends were to spend a few moments of their time observing her, Blake would feel violated. 

So, she kicked at the dead leaves at her feet. 

Blake’s truth was, she did not know how to switch off. Always conscious. Always aware. Always disappointed. Many times, she had ignored the bad things and her life had been manageable then, but when it got too much, when she couldn’t take anymore... well, there was some truth to “ignorance is bliss”. 

She had been deep into her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard Coco speaking to her. It was a distant echo in her mind, but Coco was adamant about getting Blake’s attention that the other girl threw an empty can at Blake’s feet. 

“Blake, you’re not getting sleepy, are you?” Coco’s laugh was booming. 

“No. I was distracted.” She said simply, “What were you saying?” 

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Coco laughed again, a knowing smile across her lips, “You guys have been together for, what, a year now? And you’ve never thought of inviting him over to bond with us?” 

“Wait!” Velvet almost dropped her Scroll, “It’s getting serious?” 

“Oh, boy.” Fox groaned. 

Blake bit her tongue. Of course, Coco could only keep her sarcasm in check for as long as three hours. She rolled her eyes, scoffed and tried to match her sarcasm. “He’s busy. He has to go to a party tomorrow.” 

“Ahhh.” Coco cheered, waving for Fox to throw her a fresh can of soda from the cooler, “The Lambda shitheads weekly house party. Why am I not surprised?” 

“They don’t need to prepare.” Yatsuhashi clutched at his stomach as he laughed, “Their parties are gross and they never clean up unless something gets broken.” 

“Yeah,” Fox nodded, “my friend from English said he broke a photo frame and the Lambdas had him clean it up with his bare hands. It didn’t help that they broke more frames and had him clean it up.” 

“Did they dance around him and dump beer down his shirt too?” Coco scoffed, “They did that to my lab partner last year. Assholes.” 

“That didn’t happen the last times we were there.” Velvet reminded them, stuffing her Scroll into her back pocket. 

“That sort of thing only happens mid-year or right around finals.” Fox added, “I think tomorrow’s going to just be a refresher. Most other students haven’t even showed up to campus yet. It’ll just be saps and townies there tomorrow.” 

“Do you mean,” Coco stretched the words out, fiddling and picking at the can in her hands, “saps and townies like us?” 

Blake saw Coco flash her most mischievous smile in the dim of the night. She recognized that look, knew it well enough to surmise that there was no arguing with Coco Adel. Her mind seemed to have been made up and whatever protests Blake could come up with will be met with even greater insistence. 

A part of her disliked the feeling of helplessness and lack of autonomy. Blake enjoyed her nights alone in her apartment. In fact, when was the last time that she had comfortably spread herself out over her couch, fully engrossed in a second-hand bookstore find? She couldn’t even remember the last time she had gotten herself any book to read. 

This entire year had been disastrous, to say the least. 

It’s only getting worse. 

“Hey, maybe some of us have some other places to be.” Velvet sounded nervous. 

Everyone turned to look at her. Velvet didn’t even look at them. Her eyes were fixed on her soda 

can and dormant Scroll as she shrugged. 

Blake glanced at Coco and watched her lip twitch. 

“I wasn’t really talking about myself.” Velvet said as she finally looked up at them all and rolled her eyes. That response didn’t elicit a reaction from them, not even from Coco, so she had to add, “Where you go, I go.” 

Blake stared into the city’s silhouette in the distance. 

The very thought of walking through the Lambda house made her head spin. She had been there before. Countless times. She couldn’t forget the smell of dried vomit on the living room carpet and the sound of breaking bottles and toppled furniture. 

Red, black and blue. 

But this time felt a little bit different though. Despite the thoughts that screamed at her not to go, there was something she had now that she didn’t have then, bickering, cackling and laughing around a campfire in a secret pocket of Barthel Hill. 

She looked at her friends again, surprised to find Coco rolling around in the dirt. Yatsuhashi got up from his seat and lifted her off the ground despite her violent protests and vibrant curses. Carefully, he deposited her back to her seat and returned to his own. 

“We can drop in for an hour tomorrow.” Velvet pushed herself off her seat and smiled at Blake. She placed a hand over Coco’s shoulder as the other picked at some dead leaves that tangled with the other woman’s hair. 

Coco shifted and looked expectantly at Blake, leaving Velvet to her own devices. Fox and Yatsuhashi were looking at her as well, soda cans halfway to their lips. 

“I’ll call my boyfriend.” Blake couldn’t help herself. 

Everyone seemed to laugh at that. Yatsuhashi and Fox gave her a toast. Velvet padded back to her old spot and Coco carefully leaned back in her seat. 

Blake never missed the excited smiles on her friends' faces. 

Blake never missed the anxiety bubbling in her stomach. 


	8. Everything You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble at the Lambda party

“This feels like a bad idea.” Velvet shouted over the music thumping from the two-story house before them, “It’s not too late to turn back now.” 

Blake slowed her car down as she navigated through the crowded streets, trying to find any parking space outside of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House. The rest of the houses were a little ways away from the house and whatever vacant lot that surrounded the building had already been commandeered by the fraternity for their own parking. 

Blake checked her watch; it was only seven twenty-six, a little too early for the Friday-night crowd, but she had underestimated a party hosted by the most prestigious fraternity in Beacon University. She and Velvet looked to the building again and saw the people pushing and jumping around inside. The streets outside were lined up with gaudy cars and dotted with near-intoxicated teens. 

They would have to park about three blocks away and make their way to the party on foot. 

“Can you call Coco?” Blake asked, shifting gears to back up, eyes trained on the group of young men bopping and jumping down the street, heading towards the source of the music. 

“She hasn’t answered my previous calls.” Velvet said, pressing her forehead against the window of Blake’s passenger seat. After a second or two, she pulled out her Scroll and tried to dial. “But I’ll try again.” 

Blake figured she couldn’t make a u-turn until she found a spot wide enough to back into. The partygoers were coming in droves and they paid little attention to the black sedan and cared even less if Blake was struggling to manoeuvre out of the street. This didn’t feel like the perfect place for her car’s first accident anyway. 

She bit down the regret rolling in the pit of her stomach and the whispering in the back of her head. 

“She’s still not picking up.” Velvet sighed, pushing herself up and rolling down her window, “Blake, use your horn.” 

Blake did as she was instructed. She lightly honked her horn, but the infuriating sound cut through the funky beat and startled two boys in front of them. They turned back around, scowls on their faces and a desire to hurt somebody. Velvet pulled her head back into the vehicle when she heard one of them shouting profanities and flipped them off. 

Luckily, the two boys did only that and hobbled over to the party. Velvet cursed them under her breath and Blake chuckled as they made it out of the packed street by backing into a vacant lot that the Lambda house had seemed to use as a garbage dump. There were black plastic bags piled high in the middle and a few pieces of furniture lay discarded so close to the street. 

Velvet quickly shut her window and turned to Blake, “You’re seriously not parking here, are you?” 

“No.” Blake said a little too enthusiastically, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel “I’m thinking.” 

Blake could feel Velvet studying her and then she sighed. The girl had returned to her Scroll, no doubt trying to contact Coco again. Blake tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Outside, the song had changed from a funky melody to one that reminded her of blue cats and unnecessarily animated snakes. Sexual. Sensual. Mindless. Reckless. 

Without a word, she drove out of the empty lot and made her way to a vacant sidewalk a long way from the Lambda House. It was a little bit more silent here, but Blake could still hear the ghastly synthesizers and the auto-tune looming in the air. 

“Do you even think she and the guys are inside?” Blake intoned, silently accepting that they were never going to park anywhere near the party. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing, depending on how the situation was discussed and who was discussing it. 

“Yeah.” Velvet drawled, “She texted me an hour ago that Fox and Yatsu had picked her up from her apartment.” 

Blake shook her head , “She lives fifteen minutes away. She should be here by now.” 

“I don’t get it either.” Velvet threw her head back against the seat and sighed, “She’s probably already partying inside. You know, stealing all the booze she can before we have to go.” 

Blake figured the spot right next to the streetlight was the safest place she could find. It wasn’t too far from the Lambda House, but it wasn’t close enough to not think about the walk in the cold. She parked the car with ease, releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turned off the engine and felt the warmth ebb away. 

She was not looking forward to the chill outside. 

“We can always go somewhere else, you know.” Velvet gently placed her hand on Blake’s thigh, brown eyes comforting and voice so soft to calm Blake down, “It’s Friday night. Most other places would probably be open until midnight. We can hang out at the Mare’s Nest again.” 

“This is fine.” Blake pulled her keys out of the ignition and pocketed them in her jeans. She didn’t look at Velvet. She stared into the dark streets outside, up to the cloudy sky and noted the absence of the stars. “Just give me a moment. I need to get my bearings a bit. Friday night, first party of the year and a house full of sweaty, drunk and probably horny people. This’ll be fun.” 

Blake gave Velvet a wry smile and saw the other girl blink at her in confusion. She laughed to herself when realization dawned on her and Velvet’s face twisted into disgust and then uncertainty. 

“Well, now that you mention it, I guess I need to mentally prepare myself for that too.” 

Blake turned back to the darkness ahead of her, picking out the faint light from the windows in the distance. She tried to remember which building that was, wondered who in their right mind would spend their Friday nights holed up in an office, a lecture hall or a dorm room. 

_ I would.  _

She felt a wave of envy burning inside of her, a deep yearning to make an escape, drive out of the 

campus and crawl back into the comfort of her warm apartment, under the thick black cotton blanket of her queen size bed, her head against the soft gray pillows and a four-hundred-page novel in her hands. 

Instead she was here, in her car with Velvet tapping away at her Scroll, her breath forming right underneath her nose. She glanced at her watch, but made no move to actually check the time. It was probably more or less eight in the evening and the party would have only just truly begun. 

Sitting here was the perfect way to waste some time. 

Coco had agreed that they vacate the Lambda House by nine-thirty before it got too crowded, or before trouble walked through the front doors. Word was, trouble wouldn’t make it back until ten in the evening with smuggled beer and narcotics from questionable sources.

Another minute or two, Blake resigned herself to a night of flirting with danger and motioned for Velvet to come out of the vehicle with her. She felt the harsh wind slap against her cheeks and shoved both her hands into the pockets of her black faux leather jacket. 

She cursed herself for wearing a thin gray shirt underneath and her lack of socks had made her ankles ache in her heeled boots. She was grateful that the pavement wasn’t slippery, fearing that her discomfort might let her slip and fall if she wasn’t too careful. 

Velvet followed her closely, falling into step with her, but eventually trailing behind when she would glance at her Scroll too long. Blake knew just how worried Velvet could get when people didn’t reply. The two women hurried into the house, determined to warm themselves in the throng of debauchery, mischief and possibilities. 

The front door was packed. Blake held on to Velvet’s wrist, navigating through the bodies that immediately pressed against them. They looked back and forth, searching for any signs of their friends in the crowd, but the faces they had seen were vaguely familiar and, at the same time, quite foreign, illuminated by the flashing party lights. 

They could barely see the walls and the several doorways and crevices where people might be hiding in. Blake had been in this house dozens of times before, but that felt like a lifetime ago. She tried to block out the noise, the bass about to drop and the crowd would inevitably redouble their grinding and thrashing. 

She held on to Velvet as they moved to the right, barely making out a dim house light behind a stained wall. The closer they got, the stronger the heady scent of alcohol and vomit became. 

It’s only 8PM. 

Blake swallowed the lump in her throat. She remembered the people still on their way to the party and she thought that it was only going to get more crowded, more rowdy and less comfortable the longer they stayed there. 

It was finally sinking in. This was a bad idea and she wished she had heeded Velvet’s words and just drove straight to the Mare’s Nest, ordering a fruity cocktail and watching adults in their mid- 30s try their luck for one night or more. 

She felt Velvet’s wrist slipping away, tried to hold tightly, but she had lost her grip when a drunken girl had pushed Blake aside, spilling a bit of her beer down her jeans. Blake glared at the back of her head, stumbling away as the drink sloshed to the floor. 

Velvet managed to find Blake’s hand and the two of them held tightly as they continued their trip towards the light. 

“S’one more.” A familiar voice slurred, “Can’t hurt anybod. Dude, fucking do what I said.” 

“Where did you put the last ones?” a man’s voice whined. 

Blake and Velvet poked their heads into the lit room, spotted the distinct sight of overhead cupboards and drunk Coco Adel, held up by Yatsuhashi and Fox. Right in front of them, sitting atop the kitchen bar were two Lambda Fraternity brothers Blake had known since she started in Beacon. 

“You’ve only been here for thirty minutes,” Sun Wukong said incredulously, sliding a bucket of beer out of Coco’s reach, “And you’ve already had five.” 

“Did she drive here?” Neptune Vasilias cocked an eyebrow, “Dude, calm her down. She’ll drink all the beer by herself at this rate.” 

“Fuck!” Coco screamed, leaning against Yatsuhashi as she raised a threatening finger towards Neptune, “Don’t tell’m you shitheads don’t e- don’t have ‘nother supply. What the fuck kinda party is this?” 

Blake shook her head and waved to get Neptune and Sun’s attention. Neptune simply grinned at them and Sun practically jumped off of the table to stand right in front of her. Coco had Fox turn her around to see what was happening and grinned. 

“Sun and Blakey sitting in a tree.” Coco sang off-key, resting her head against Fox’s cheek, “K-I- S-S- GIVE ME BEER!” 

“Alright, Coco.” Velvet let Blake’s hand go and moved to pull Coco off of Fox, “That’s enough for now. We’ll get you beer after a few minutes, okay?” 

“Oh, come on. I’ve only had two.” Coco pushed herself off of Fox completely and wrapped herself around Velvet’s waist. She suddenly turned Velvet to get a good look at Blake and grinned at her. “Blake, can you please tell your boyfriend to give me a beer. Just one. I swear, it’s the last.” 

“Boyfriend?” Sun looked at all of them and finally set his eyes on Blake. 

Blake bit her tongue and rolled her eyes, “If you can be patient for ten more minutes, I’ll ask Sun to give you one cold beer and a shot of tequila. Sound good?” 

Coco attempted a whooping noise, pushing herself against Velvet and almost sending them both toppling to the floor. Neptune held his hand out and kept Velvet upright and Yatsuhashi just directed Coco away from the bar. 

“What is she talking about?” Sun leaned closer to Blake, almost shouting in her ear when the synthesizers and the drumbeats began to shake the walls. 

Blake could feel five pairs of eyes staring at her, waiting for her to give an answer. She was thankful Coco was busy dozing off on Velvet’s shoulder, knowing just how tactless she could be with or without alcohol. 

She felt bad for Velvet. This has happened before. Coco would drink more than she could handle and she would latch onto the poor girl, her grip tightening every time anyone had tried to pull her away. Velvet had eventually gotten used to it, but that never stopped Blake from worrying if Coco might eventually give her a hard time. 

She looked at back at Sun, watched the confusion etching into his eyebrows and pulled him close so she could shout in his ear, “Let’s talk.” 

Sun pulled himself away and nodded where she could see. He gently held onto Blake’s wrist as he turned to let Neptune know that he was going to take a few minutes. Neptune didn’t smile. He just nodded and reached for a bottle of beer, popping one open for himself. 

Sun led her out of the kitchen and into the hallway, almost running into the annoyed group of people, lining up to use the restroom at the end of the hall. Sun motioned for Blake to follow him to the staircase that led to the second floor, but Blake shook her head and led him back to the sliding doors in the back. 

Blake was met with another slap of the cold night air the moment Sun opened the door. She quickly stepped outside and tried to hide from the small group of people dipping their feet into the thirty-meter-wide swimming pool. 

Sun nonchalantly waved at them as he closed the door behind him. He wrapped an arm around Blake’s shoulder and led her to the side of the house, straight into the darkness and away from prying eyes. 

The thought of being completely alone with a boy like this terrified Blake, but she looked at Sun and his charming smile and his kind eyes and just allowed herself to trust in him completely. He would never hurt her. 

Blake tucked her hands underneath her armpits and watched her breath freeze before her. Sun never let her go for an instant and he even pulled her closet to his side, hoping to keep her warm. 

“We could talk upstairs, you know.” Sun laughed and Blake felt her elbow press into his ribs, “It’s warmer up there than out here. We could freeze to death.” 

Blake shook her head and felt her teeth chattering, “No, thank you. This is fine. This’ll be quick.” 

Sun didn’t say anything and Blake felt his grip loosening on her shoulder. The only sound that echoed in the night was the howling wind and the party goers singing to the song, clapping their hands in an almost-perfect rhythm, followed by two loud stomps and wild cheering and laughing. 

“You know,” Sun rested his head against the top of Blake’s head and forced a short laugh, “I’m not gonna do anything to you, right?” 

He pulled himself away, stepped back and watched Blake intently. She looked back at him, right into his eyes, gray in this darkness, but she remembered how blue they were. Like the skies and the ocean. Oh, how kind they always had been; how kind he always had been. 

It didn’t feel right for her to make him feel like she didn’t trust him. 

Blake shook her head, shook Sun’s gaze away from her and tried to make out the label on the empty bottle under a barred window. 

“I know.” She said softly, but added as loud as the noise allowed, “I don’t want people getting the wrong idea.” 

She looked right into Sun’s eyes, right into the blues and kindness that she could make out in the dim of the night. They had always been there, since the night she first saw a panicky Sun Wukong running to her side. 

“Nobody knows the truth, Sun.” She tried to say out loud, but her voice cracked and the 

partygoers had stomped their feet as loud as they could, “I’d prefer to keep it that way for as long as possible.” 

Sun’s smile was not as wide or as cheerful as it had been, but it wasn’t less charming. There was a sad twinkle in his eyes, but there was an encouragement in his voice and the way he squeezed her shoulder, “I hate to be another secret, Blake, but anything for you.” 

For a moment, Blake felt like she was safe, miles away from this horrid place. She tried her best to return his smile, but smiles were never really her thing, self-conscious that she may not wear it well. She tightened her lips and tried to keep herself warm. 

Despite the cold air, she felt relieved. This was one truth that could stay between them. She would have to savor it for as long as the universe allowed. 

“You guys are leaving before ten, right?” Sun asked, worry swirling in his eyes. 

Blake simply nodded, trying to push the consequences of staying past ten out of her head. She and her friends had a plan. They had gone to Lambda House parties before and they knew that when the clock struck ten in the evening, the party would only get worse. 

Besides, ending the night in the Mare’s Nest didn’t seem like such a bad idea. The drinks were a little bit pricier, but that could deter Coco’s need for alcohol. The girl had deep pockets, but she also had long months and groceries to grab that weekend. 

Coco was odd, in a good way. A little more honest than Blake would want to be, but if what Velvet said was true, she meant well. Still, she had an awful way of meaning well if her idea of a joke meant putting people on the spot. 

“What Coco said...” Blake looked at Sun with as much apology as her eyes could convey. 

“Like I said, anything for you.” He laughed as he enveloped her into a hug, pressing her against his chest and she appreciated how warm and gentle he was, “We better head back inside. You know, where it’s warm. I’ve got plans tonight.” 

Blake laughed into the collar of his shirt and wrapped her own arm around his waist, both of them silently making their way back into the noise and the warm bodies. Sun quickly extracted himself from Blake after he closed the door, waiting for her to lead him back to the living room. 

Fox was waiting for them by the wall near the kitchen, a not-so cold beer for Blake in his hand. Sun high-fived Fox and gave Blake a little bashful wave before he retreated into the kitchen to complete his duty. 

Fox pointed towards a cluster of people on the dance floor and Blake quickly saw Yatsuhashi Daichi’s head in the crowd. Right in front of him was Coco, gracelessly tossing her head around and Velvet trying to get her not to hurt people. 

But all in all, they looked like they were having fun. Coco seemed to sway less each time and Velvet just laughed and wrapped her arms around Coco’s shoulders and Yatsuhashi’s waist. 

Blake had spent a solid fifteen minutes sipping her beer and watching her friends have fun on the dance floor. Coco seemed to sway less and Velvet just laughed and wrapped her arms around Coco’s shoulders and Yatsuhashi’s waist, directing the two of them to dance to the music. 

The front door had opened and in came a fresh group of people. Blake emptied her beer bottle and ducked into the kitchen just as the newcomers began shouting names out. She would be back out to the living room before the newcomers would get to the kitchen, standing next to Fox and just  killing time before they had to leave. 

Blake never minded crowded parties if it meant getting to drink as much beer as she could. 

Sun and Neptune were shouting at each other over the new song, sipping their beers and Neptune pouring a glass of whiskey for himself. The two boys smiled at Blake as she propped herself up in front of the bar, handing the empty bottle back to Sun. 

Sun took one quick look at the large metal basin behind the bar and cursed, “We’re out of beer.” 

“Go get some in the back.” Neptune grimaced after he swallowed the contents of his glass, “You should bring an entire case here.” 

“You better hurry.” Blake called after Sun, “Some people just walked in.” 

Sun cursed as he jogged out of the kitchen, pushing past people as they lined up for the bathroom in the hallway outside. Blake thought about slowing down her drinking, not wanting to wait twenty minutes behind a dozen drunk people to get to use the toilet. 

“Whiskey while you wait?” Neptune tipped the bottle towards her and smiled. 

Blake didn’t miss the bad rhyme, but she smiled back at him and shook her head. She checked her watch again and was surprised that it was only a quarter to nine. Forty-five more minutes and they would have to vacate the premises. 

She made a mental note to keep Coco from drinking anymore so they wouldn’t have to drag her out of the house when the time came. 

Blake sighed when she heard two girls giggling behind her. They would have to wait with her in the kitchen. It won’t be long until another group of people would find themselves in here with them. 

She thought about telling Neptune that she’ll be back for the beer in a couple of minutes, but the girls walked right up to Neptune and asked him if he could hand the bottle of whiskey over. It wasn’t a long conversation. Neptune was more than glad to trade the alcohol for a girl’s number. Blake laughed as the girls tapped their numbers into his Scroll and how Neptune Vasilias sent them off with a wink. 

“I love girls.” He sighed, shifting on the bar to reach for a clear bottle in the back, “Girls, you know.” 

Blake laughed and shook her head. Neptune had opened a tall bottle of vodka and wordlessly offered it to Blake. “I know.” 

“Is it always this crowded?” a man shouted in the kitchen doorway, his nervous voice muffled by the electronic music from the dance floor, “What’s up, my dude? My dudette?” 

“Don’t say that.” 

Blake froze. She had heard that voice before. Of course, she hadn’t heard it in a long time and she hadn’t heard it extensively before, but she knew she had heard it. She wasn’t entirely sure. It could be she was wrong. It could be another person, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous about turning around and putting a face to that familiar voice. 

“Hey, John.” Neptune nodded as he pushed himself off the bar, standing right beside Blake with a wry smile as he added, “and... Yang.” 

“It’s Jaune, actually.” The shaky voice was oozing with nerves and unbridled excitement, “Can we get two beers, my man?” 

Blake shook her head and sighed. There wasn’t really any point in hiding, not in this small kitchen where the air was getting thick and heavy. She looked at Neptune fold his arms in front of his chest and grimace before she cast a sideways glance at Jaune and Yang Xiao Long. 

“You’re gonna have to wait a while.” Neptune’s voice was cold, defensive, dominating, “We’re getting a new case from the backroom. It’s not gonna be cold.” 

“Cool, cool.” Jaune ran a hand through his generously-gelled hair, flattening out whatever imaginary stray strand. 

He looked like a floundering mess in a leather jacket that was too big and too heavy for him. Blake wondered if he was even the slightest bit comfortable or vaguely aware that his baby blue button-up shirt was too tight that the buttons looked like they were about to pop. 

Beside him, Yang Xiao Long was wearing an equally loose utility jacket over yellow-striped pink shirt. Her wild hair was in a ponytail, a few loose strands curling around her neck and falling over her face. She looked miffed. Her nose and cheeks were pink from the cold outside. 

Blake didn’t need to worry about making eye contact with the other girl. Yang was busy staring at her shoes and picking at the hem of her jacket. 

“So, you two, huh?” Neptune said coldly, his eyes darting between a flustered Yang and a smiling Jaune. 

Before any of them could answer, Sun walked into the kitchen, a keg under one arm and a case of beer over his shoulder. Neptune swooped in to take the case off of his shoulder, but cursed when it almost fell to the floor. 

Jaune and Blake just looked at the two guys, waiting for something to happen and hoping all goes well. Yang, on the other hand, moved past Blake and helped Neptune carry the beer case to the bar. Sun effortlessly hauled the keg towards the sink, unaware of the suspense and awkward electricity in the room. 

“I’m just here to drop Jaune off.” Yang said as she and Neptune placed the bottles of beer into the basin behind the bar, “I’ve got to be somewhere else anyway.” 

Sun grabbed a bottle out of Neptune’s hand and popped it open before he handed it over to Blake with an apology about how he had to navigate through a sea of drunks and how it isn’t cold. 

He turned to Neptune and Blake saw Sun’s eyes go wide, staring at the back of Yang’s head. He tapped her shoulders and waited for her to turn around. He hair had almost whipped him in the face, but he easily dodged it and his jaw dropped at the sight of Yang. 

“You shouldn’t be here.” Sun shouted over the music, “You’re banned. The brothers issued a perma-ban on you after you beat Dove up.” 

“Wait.” Neptune cried, “That was you?” 

“The guy deserved it.” Yang huffed out and shrugged, “Honestly, he was asking for it.” 

Blake winced at Yang’s poor choice of words and marvelled at how dismissive she was being. Had she no regard for what she did? Did she feel no regret about beating a guy up? Did Yang 

Xiao Long have no remorse? For a girl who had just buried her father, she sure had no qualms about being at a fraternity party. It was almost as if nothing had happened, as if she didn’t care. 

And that sent a shiver down Blake’s spine. 

Jaune moved past Blake, pulling out two crumpled flyers from the pocket of his jeans. He waved it in front of Neptune and Sun, once again asking for a couple of beers for himself and Yang. Neptune blanched, probably asking himself what Yang saw in this pompous wannabe, but he did as Jaune had asked, handing a couple of bottles to Sun so he could open them. 

Sun never took his eyes off of Yang, worry etched on his face, “Seriously, Xiao Long, you better get out of here before the head boys see you. I don’t want any trouble.” 

“Yeah, Yang.” Neptune agreed, his facial features soft and his voice low despite the noise filtering into the room, “You probably got a lot on your plate right now. You know, after what happened... with your dad. Sorry.” 

“The guy deserved it.” Yang huffed out and shrugged, “Honestly, he was asking for it.” 

Blake winced at Yang’s poor choice of words and marvelled at how dismissive she was being. Had she no regard for what she did? Did she feel no regret about beating a guy up? Did Yang 

Xiao Long have no remorse? For a girl who had just buried her father, she sure had no qualms about being at a fraternity party. It was almost as if nothing had happened, as if she didn’t care. 

And that sent a shiver down Blake’s spine. 

Jaune moved past Blake, pulling out two crumpled flyers from the pocket of his jeans. He waved it in front of Neptune and Sun, once again asking for a couple of beers for himself and Yang. Neptune blanched, probably asking himself what Yang saw in this pompous wannabe, but he did as Jaune had asked, handing a couple of bottles to Sun so he could open them. 

Sun never took his eyes off of Yang, worry etched on his face, “Seriously, Xiao Long, you better get out of here before the head boys see you. I don’t want any trouble.” 

“Yeah, Yang.” Neptune agreed, his facial features soft and his voice low despite the noise filtering into the room, “You probably got a lot on your plate right now. You know, after what happened... with your dad. Sorry.” v

“Guys, I’m fine.” Yang raised her hands in mock surrender, taking a little step away from Blake as she did so, “You worry too much. I’m gonna go, okay?” 

Yang turned on her heel and found herself just barely a foot away from Blake. She was too close, close enough for Blake to catch a whiff of her pine tree scent and lavender shampoo. Yang quickly ducked her head, shoved her hands in her pockets and circled around Blake with a certain graceful defeat. 

“Wait. What?” Jaune dashed to stop in front of Yang and tried to offer the beer Sun had given him, “You said you’d help me find her, Yang.” 

“I said,” Yang waved the beer away and half turned to the living room, “I’d help you get into the party. I can’t stay, Jaune. I have to go. Right now.” 

Jaune stared as Yang moved to the doorway towards the living room. The girl was moving a little too fast and painfully collided with a confused Velvet and a stumbling Coco, irritated by the rude gesture. Yang raised her hands in surrender again, pleading for Coco to just let her pass through. 

But Coco did a double take, looking over Yang Xiao Long from her head down to the caked mud on her shoes, “Oh, hey, it’s Yang Xiao Long. Did I say that right?” 

“Uh, yeah.” Yang was utterly confused, her lilac eyes wide with uncertainty and discomfort. She tried to slip out of the kitchen, but Coco pressed a hand against her chest, grabbed a handful of her jacket and pulled her back inside. 

“Coco, please.” Yang pleaded, trying to wrench herself free from Coco’s grip, but even in her drunken state, Coco was strong. Her mischief only made her more relentless and more indelicate. 

“Hey, Velvs, don’t you guys work together?” Coco guided Yang back into the center of the room, both of her hands now leading the poor girl by her jacket collar. 

“Coco, she said she has to go.” Velvet reasoned, but Coco only threw her head back and laughed, giving one final yank of the loose utility jacket to have Yang stand right next to Blake. 

Blake could smell the pine trees and the lavenders again. She briefly thought of those car fresheners dangling by the rear view mirror. She thought of the warm afternoon sun and a gentle breeze against her cheek. 

I was wondering if you’d like to gret... get dinner with me. 

Blake shook her head and took a step back from Yang. She had no room for thoughts like that. She shouldn’t second-guess herself. She couldn’t afford whatever possibility Yang had formed in her head about them. Not when Blake formulated her own possibility. 

This was the truth: Blake didn’t want to gamble. Possibilities were chances and Blake had no intentions of being on the losing side. 

“Coco, quit it and let her leave.” Sun slipped his hand between Yang and Coco. 

“What is your problem?” Yang whined loudly, but her voice was drowned out by the wild howling and cheering coming from outside. 

Sun froze and walked over to the doorway in a daze. Blake watched as he poked his head out and tried to take a peek at what was happening in the living room. The wild howling and cheering turned into chanting, hands clapping and feet stomping. That coupled with the louder music shook the walls and made Blake anxious. 

“They’re back?” Neptune asked, “So soon?” 

Sun ignored him, pushing past Jaune, Coco and Velvet to get to Blake. He was speechless, stunned, mouth hanging open as his eyes looked between Blake and Yang. 

“Both of you need to get out of the house right now.” He shouted as he pulled the two of them close to him. 

“Why?” Yang shouted back, “Are those the guys you were telling me about?” 

Sun ignored her and looked to Neptune for support, “They’re blocking the front door.” 

“Then let’s get them out through the back.” Neptune offered, already about to move towards the sliding door that led to the swimming pool, but Sun held on to his hand. 

“I passed by there earlier. I saw Russel and Kenny in the swimming pool.” 

“Well, where else should they go?” Neptune shouted, glancing over to the doorway where the crowd had gotten louder, “It’s not as if they can pass through the windows. They’re all sealed.” 

“You want to push us out of the window?” Yang shot a look towards the window behind the bar. 

Blake had done the same, feeling her heart hammering in her chest the longer they stayed. The boys would never panic like this if it didn’t mean danger. She looked around at everyone in the room, saw Jaune poke his head out of the doorway and Coco sobering up and looking as if she was coming up with a plan. 

Neptune and Sun continued to argue over Blake and Yang; one coming up with an idea and the other shooting him down. 

Blake caught Yang looking at her and the girl looked just as nervous as she had been since that morning she had asked her out to dinner. She felt a lump in her throat and bile bubbling in her stomach, the heat and acidic burn of the beer reminding her that she hadn’t had a chance to eat anything that night. 

She felt dizzy and tried to hold herself up against the bar. The crowd was going wild and the bottles began to offer their sound as the entire house shook louder and louder. Neptune and Sun were still arguing, stuttering and shouting nonsense over the din. To make matters worse, a Scroll 

began to ring in the midst of the chaos. 

It was Coco who spoke next and told everyone what to do. 

“You, Sun and Blue Boy,” Coco demanded as she stepped in the middle of the two guys, “shut the hell up and take these girls to your rooms.” 

Everyone was silent, gaping at Coco as she glared at the two Lambda boys. Blake wanted to protest, wanted to argue about the futility and sheer ridiculousness of Coco’s plan, but no one else seemed to be coming up with a better one and Coco didn’t look as if she were done. 

“Velvet,” Coco continued, wobbling as she turned to the girl, “go find Fox and see if you can find another way out for Blake and Yang. Jauney boy and I here are going to Yatsuhashi here and then try to keep those shitheads backs.” 

“Let’s go.” Neptune shouted. 

Without thinking twice, he wrapped an arm around Yang’s shoulder and half-led, half-dragged her towards the hallway towards the bathroom. Sun was much less commandeering with Blake, holding his hand out for her as he led her up the stairs. 

The cheering had only gotten louder and the crowd started knocking on whatever surface they could reach. 

The second story was dark, but there were already a couple of occupied rooms. Blake ignored the muffled moaning and squeaking bed frames, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. She pressed a hand to her stomach, holding back the vomit that threatened to spew out. 

In one quick motion, Neptune had pushed a door open and shoved Yang inside. Sun stood by the door and whispered for Blake to step inside. 

The room was dark, dimly lit by the streetlight outside. Blake could make out two single unmade beds and items of clothing strewn about the floor. The window was open, but the steel bars looked like sinister figures that kept them inside. 

“You girls stay here.” Neptune whispered as he had Yang sit on one of the beds, “We’re gonna go back downstairs and make sure nobody comes up here.” 

“You both have to keep real quiet and keep the lights off and wait for us to come back.” Sun never looked at them, his eyes still trained on the hallway, half-expecting a threat to come. He quickly looked at Blake when he heard a woman’s voice giggling from another room. “Sorry, but don’t let anyone know you’re in here. We’ll be back, okay?” 

The door gently shut and Blake found herself alone in a dark room with Yang Xiao Long, the floor vibrating against their shoes, the smell of sweat and unwashed clothes lingering in the air and the sounds of muffled dubstep and unprotected sex shaking the walls. 

This isn’t awkward at all. 

Yang sat stiffly on one of the beds, probably Neptune’s with the way he almost shoved her onto it, her hands clamped over her knees. She deliberately tried not to look at Blake, staring out into the street. Occasionally, she winced when the moaning and grunting got too loud, but otherwise, Yang kept a straight face and said nothing. 

Blake made her way to the vacant bed, sitting a little to the left across from Yang. The air was stifling and the smell of pure masculinity was beginning to muddle her thoughts. She could still  feel the vomit waiting in her throat, the panic keeping it from dissipating. 

This was a bad idea. She should have had the better judgment of staying away from the Lambda House and maybe stayed home and studied for a quiz next week. 

She looked at Yang’s silhouette, wondering what horrible thing the other girl could have done to have gotten herself into this situation; hiding in a smelly room with a bunch of angry guys waiting for her downstairs. And right after her father died. 

“So, how’s the gardening?” Yang whispered, barely masking the crack in her voice. 

Was she scared? Was she afraid of the consequences of coming to this party she knew she shouldn’t have been to? Was she afraid of getting caught after she defiantly did as she pleased? Blake even thought that maybe Yang was afraid of speaking to her, still a little upset over what had happened last year. 

“The flowers died right after you gave them to me.” Blake answered in the same volume, but a bit more succinct than she had intended. 

Yang Xiao Long winced and her shoulders sagged, but still, she talked as if Blake’s words didn’t obviously sting, “So, I take it the book was crap.” 

Blake didn’t even bother giving her a response. She was a little upset with Yang, but the longer she thought about it, the less clear it was as to why. 

What had Yang Xiao Long done to merit such a cold response from Blake? 

Blake had never really thought about last year’s awkward interaction and the botched date invitation. Last year, she had nightmares to deal with and Yang’s little crush on her was an inconvenience she had no time for. 

But now, a year later, Blake ran out of excuses not to analyze the girl’s sudden interest in her. She had received dozens of invitations before, but from people Yang was never going to be. Was it Blake’s nonchalance and detachment those mornings that they had shared that planted the seeds to Yang’s affections? 

She did not remember being nice to Yang, but the blonde had said it and it haunted Blake. She never thought of herself as nice or accommodating or caring or thoughtful. Blake thought of herself as just one thing and that she was just a bitch. 

Yang was silent as she continued her staring into the darkness of the street, at a loss for words and much sadder than Blake had ever seen her before. 

Yang might be a brute, but she did not deserve Blake’s aloofness and snippy responses. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow, but some people took sugar to help with the task. 

“I’m sorry about your dad.” Blake said, her eyes searching for Yang’s in the dimness of the room. 

Not even the streetlight could illuminate the other girl’s face. Blake’s sudden shift didn’t surprise her at all. She barely moved, as if she had been expecting those words. Blake couldn’t help but think that she must have gotten used to it since she had gotten back to Beacon, probably even tired of the reminders of what she had lost. 

“It’s okay.” Yang said calmly, “I guess he’s in a better place?” 

Yang’s uncertainty put a damper on Blake’s willingness to be nice, to be more sensitive and to 

understand the girl before her. Blake simply nodded and hummed her agreement, trying to pick out odd shapes in the room. The heady scent of masculinity embedded into her nostrils and further agitated her. 

What the hell is wrong with me? 

Something had happened in the night that pissed her off. She could sit here and analyze the events that led them to be in this situation, to understand every single word Yang had said, every move she made and pinpoint the exact moment that pushed Blake’s common sense out the window. 

Could it have been Yang’s pride in how she had beaten a boy up? Yang had always been fiery, but she never knew the other girl to have a penchant for violence. Another reason came to Blake’s mind, but she pushed it aside for now. She squared her shoulder and sat up straight, hoping to show Yang Xiao Long that she meant business and that she wasn’t afraid of her. 

“You beat someone up.” Blake said through gritted teeth. It was an accusation and a question and she made it very clear that she wasn’t at all pleased. 

Blake saw how Yang whipped her head to face her. The streetlight had only managed to show one of Yang’s eyes, angry and glaring at her. 

“I didn’t beat him up.” Yang said out loud. 

The moaning and bed squeaking stopped for a moment. Yang smacked a hand over her mouth and stared back into the street, breathing through her nostrils as she shut her eyes. 

“Lay on your back for me, baby.” A woman growled after a few moments, followed by giggles and rustling sheets. 

Yang groaned as she buried her face in both her hands. Blake just rolled her eyes and tried not to listen to the profanities and praise the lovers in the other room were reciting. 

“I was just minding my own business when he came up to me and asked me if I wanted to go to the party.” Yang whispered, not moving from her previous position, “I don’t really remember the exact things that happened, but he’d give me the invites if I’d show him my boobs.” 

Blake grimaced and watched Yang sit upright. The blonde still didn’t look at her. Yang faced the window, her silhouette and the distant, pained look in her eyes were the only things Blake could make out. 

“No, he actually called my boobs knockers, like it was still the 50s.” Yang forced a laugh, “I admit, I got mad and punched him. Once.” 

Yang looked right at her when she said the last word, as if that would somehow make what she did seem right. It wasn’t. 

“Do you wanna know the worst part?” Yang continued, “Nobody stopped him. A lot of people heard what he said, saw how he approached me and completely made me feel uncomfortable and somewhat violated and I’m the bad guy.” 

Yang leaned back and smiled at Blake, the sadness and disgust were evident in the silhouette of her eyes, “I’m sure you know what that feels like. We’re girls. I guess you can say we were born into it. It’s true for you and it’s true for me. The details are different, hazy, but in the end, it’s all the same. Sometimes, the only thing we have left is to fight back or let it happen again and again. Either way, being a girl means having a huge target painted on your back.” 

Blake swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t help it. Thoughts of an angry Yang Xiao Long ran through Blake’s head, pulling her fist and hitting a faceless boy. Blake thought of bruises and split lips and bleeding eyebrows. 

Red. Black. Blue. 

Still, Yang’s words echoed in her head, far louder than the unintelligible song from the speakers. Blake would never hurt anyone, that was the truth, and she would never resort to violence to prevent getting hurt. That was another truth. 

Her head began to ache and she felt her throat run dry. There were too many truths to process in a single night and they were waiting for Neptune and Sun to come back and smuggle them out of the Lambda House. 

Right now, one thing was clear. Blake was seeing a different kind of truth, something that had been there, but never given the chance to grow. 

Blake looked at Yang’s silhouette and saw that the girl looked different. She looked less confident, so unsure of herself, so very less like the Yang Xiao Long she had met that day in Gender Studies. But there were still traces of that girl there, hiding perhaps in layers of unprocessed emotions.

Yang also looked smaller than she always appeared to be, like she had a weight on her shoulders that she didn’t have a year ago. Blake openly stared at her, observing her in the darkness. This wasn’t the first time Blake paid attention to the girl, but this moment felt different. 

The longer she looked, the harder it was for her to breathe; the weight in her chest getting heavy with each blink of Yang’s eyes. 

She has long lashes. 

She thought that maybe it was just the smell of the room, foul and very unhygienic. Blake forced herself to look at the floor again, counting the discarded socks and boxer briefs by the corner and that had only made things worse. 

Blake closed her eyes and tried to think of more fragrant things. She grabbed a few tufts of her hair and pressed them against her nostrils. She liked the scent of flowers. She had always made it a point to smell like them too. She thought of plumerias, lilacs, gardenias, lilies, jasmines and lavenders. 

Then she remembered the flowers that Yang had given her; a small bouquet of daffodils and irises. They reminded her so much of the spirited Yang Xiao Long, but they had been a big nuisance for her. At the end of that day, after all the snickering and teasing from her friends, Blake had dropped the flowers into a glass vase where they lay forgotten on her kitchen counter for some time. 

Blake wasn’t one to tend to a garden or anything that lived – apart from herself, of course. She expected the flowers to die within a day or two, but somebody had mentioned that they would probably last a week if Blake wouldn’t change the water. 

For the first four days, the flowers looked like a stain in her kitchen, the petals wilting and shrinking, the water getting murky with continued negligence. They just really meant nothing. 

She had no idea why, on the fifth day, after coming home with an ache on her side, her head throbbing and a bruise on her jaw, she picked the vase up and scowled at the purple of the irises and how it reminded her of the bruise on her chin. 

She emptied the water down the drain, grabbed the flowers and paused. She thought that maybe Yang had chosen this flower arrangement because they looked pretty, but that day, they looked very conceited. Yellow daffodils like her hair and purple irises like her goddamn eyes. 

Blake laughed at that as she left the flowers to die by the sink. It must have been a carefully planned gift or a complete accident, but Blake found it funny and laughed and laughed until she felt her tears falling. 

So much unspoken truths and heartaches. 

Blake opened her eyes and scanned the dark room again. Yang was still staring out the window, chewing on her bottom lip as she absentmindedly scratched her knees. Blake recognized the distant gaze and the anxiousness. She knew how Yang felt. She’d felt it before too. 

“H...” Blake’s voice sounded hoarse, but she cleared her throat and saw Yang sit in attention, “How are you holding up?” 

Cautiously, Yang turned to her, “I...” 

The streetlight did nothing to help Blake see the other girl’s minute reactions, only catching the audible mental struggle, watching as her silhouette began to twitch and shift about. One moment, she could feel Yang looking at her and, the next; she was looking out the window. 

Blake bit her lip and leaned back a bit. Yang could take her time because Blake was just as surprised as she was. 

She felt foolish, a fish out of water and completely out of her element. No doubt, Yang might have heard that question hundreds of times, probably supplied hundreds of adequate answers already and here was Blake pressing replay. 

“I’m fine.” Yang finally finished, her voice drowned out by the sound of drums and cheering shaking the house and the orgasm that exploded two doors down. 

But Blake heard it anyway. She should have stopped there, she should have stopped prodding, but she, of all people, knew well enough that I’m fine was a two-word summary of a lifetime’s unprocessed heartaches. She wondered if Yang had thought about how she felt or maybe if she tried to elaborate or at least. 

“You don’t sound so sure.” Blake whispered and smiled at her twisted desire to play with fire. She didn’t owe Yang Xiao Long anything really, but she couldn’t stop herself; no longer satisfied with well-rehearsed or half-hearted responses. 

“Um...” Yang’s voice was unsteady and she shrugged, pulling her feet up to hug her knees, “Well, I don’t... truth is —“ 

“Time to get out, you two.” Neptune barged into the room, holding out his hand to Yang, “Sun and Jaune are distracting the other guys. Fox and Velvet are waiting outside.” 

“We gotta move fast.” Coco trotted after Neptune, completely sober and terrified as she waited for them in the doorway, “Red’s here.” 

Blake’s blood ran cold and her heart began to race. She watched as Yang let herself be led out of the room. Coco had to pull her out and they moved farther from the staircase, towards the end of the hall. Neptune and Yang stopped in front of a sliding door that opened to a balcony by the side of the house. 

Neptune fished for the keys from his pocket, beads of sweat dotted his brow as he tried to explain how Sun had stolen it from one of the head boys. 

Coco was humming, ready to push Neptune out of the way. Her impatience was spreading like wildfire, infectious and suffocating and Blake felt the heat in her eyes. Yang was oddly calm, standing still next to Neptune, but her attention on the empty hallway. 

Blake heard Coco curse as Neptune finally got the door open, quietly pushing it open to lead them all outside to a mess of empty cigarette packs, broken ashtrays and dusty garden chairs. The music was making Blake sick. 

“No one really sticks around down there.” Neptune said as he pulled one of the garden chairs out of the way, “But people hanging around the swimming pool can still see you if you’re not careful. You’re gonna have to hang by the ledge and jump down there.” 

Blake looked down to where Neptune was pointing and recognized the empty bottle she had seen earlier when she was talking with Sun. She saw two silhouettes by the wall; Velvet and Fox were waiting for them to jump. 

“No pressure,” Neptune whispered, “but you girls have to hurry and get out of here fast. I think Cardin’s gonna come up here real soon and his room’s the closest one to here.” 

Cardin Winchester, Blake thought bitterly. He was a special kind of asshole. 

Before her thoughts could come up with more colourful things to call him, she heard Fox and Velvet from below, telling them that they were ready. Blake could hear a few cheers and the sound of people falling into the pool. 

Neptune wrapped an arm around Yang’s shoulder and pointed to something by the side of the balcony, instructing her to scale the wall and use one of the windows on the first story. 

Yang pulled herself away and slipped out of her jacket, not a trace of fear on her face. Now wasn’t the time, but Blake wished she had the same fearlessness Yang had. 

Yang looked at her as she threw the jacket over the balcony, “You should go first.” 

Blake looked at Yang and wondered if her fearlessness equated with recklessness and complete disregard for others. She was ready to protest, ready to raise her hands to ward them all away, but Yang never moved, never flinched. She just looked at Blake with that same air of fearlessness and maybe it was the light or the alcohol or feeling of impending doom, but there was a certain promise in Yang Xiao Long’s eyes. 

So Blake walked up to the girl, a little surprised to find that she was much taller than she remembered. Yang’s hand found her waist as she helped Blake over the balcony ledge. Neptune grabbed her hand as she scaled the wall, never letting go until Blake was right over the window he mentioned earlier. 

Blake gripped Neptune’s wrist as she blindly tried to put her foot over the window. Velvet and Fox had patted her ankles, a silent plea for Blake to let them guide her. She took one last look at Neptune, her fingers beginning to ache from holding on too tightly. He didn’t complain. 

With one curt nod, Blake let go of Neptune and scrambled to find anything that she could hold onto. Her heart skipped a beat when her foot had missed the window, tumbling backwards into Fox and Velvet’s waiting hands. 

The fall didn’t hurt too much. There was just an ache on her knees and toes when she landed on 

the grass. Velvet quickly got stood up and pulled Blake to her feet while Fox moved back to the window and held his hand out for Yang. 

Neptune had tried to hold on to Yang as she pulled herself on top of the ledge so quickly, whispering for her to slow down and be careful. 

Yang must not have heard. The walls began to shake again as the crowd began chanting and stomping. There were excited screams and raucous laughter coming from behind the house; people filing outside and diving into the swimming pool or demanding a cigarette. 

Yang took one small step towards the wall, her hand gripped the corner, ready to jump down when a man’s voice shouted at them. Blake’s stomach was in knots as Yang toppled backwards onto the balcony. 

“You’ve got a lot of nerve to show your face here, Xiao Long.” The voice said. 

“She was just leaving, Cardin.” Blake heard Coco’s stern voice. 

Fox jogged towards Blake and almost carried her back to the side of the house. There were already dozens of people running around the swimming pool and scattering themselves to flirt, smoke cigarettes or get wasted with beer or drugs. 

Their current hiding spot was perfect; away from prying eyes and a little bit quiet. It won’t be long until the others would come to reclaim it for their own vices. 

“We have to leave first.” Fox shook Blake. 

Yang was still up there, with Cardin fucking Winchester. Blake could hear shuffling and slight movements above them, wondering if somebody had actually helped the poor girl stand up after her fall. She would have been safely down here if she had jumped first. They might have already been halfway out of the university if Yang hadn’t decided to let her go first. 

It wasn’t safe for her stay, but she didn’t want to leave the foolish Yang Xiao Long. 

“Were you planning on throwing her off the balcony?” Cardin cackled and Blake the distinctive sound of an open palm hitting flesh, “I didn’t think you’d be so twisted, Neptune. For a second, I thought you were gay.” 

“Shut up, Cardin.” Neptune spat out, “Just let her leave. She’s not gonna come back here after.” 

“Oh, no. Red said that bitch has a price to pay.” Cardin’s voice was getting louder, moving closer to the balcony, closer to Yang and Neptune, “But I’m not a bad guy. I can keep a secret. Come on, Xiao Long. Humor me.” 

“Blake, let’s go.” Fox hissed in her ear as he and Velvet tugged her towards the street, hands firmly on her shoulder and waist, “He’s here.” 

“Yang, don’t.” Neptune’s voice rose despite the off-key singing and chanting inside of the house. 

Blake felt useless and heavy. Fox and Velvet had managed to pull her away from the house and made it out of the lot without so much as a single soul to see them. She twisted and turned in their combined grips, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the balcony. 

They were already in the middle of the street; the balcony was only slightly visible from where they were. Blake could make out Yang and Neptune, still standing by the ledge she had fallen from and felt conflicted. Here she was, on her way to finally get away and be rid of danger, but a  part of her wanted to run back into the house. 

And do what? 

“You fucking bitch.” Cardin shouted. 

Blake could see the erratic movement of shadows, bodies pressing together and being thrown back and forth. Before long, the music had stopped, replaced by confused chattering and the sound of wood breaking. 

“What the fuck was that?” a familiar voice cried inside. 

Blake ignored it. She kept her eyes on the balcony and whatever she could make out of the situation. She ignored the way Velvet’s grip tightened around her wrist and the cold, night breeze slapping her cheeks. 

“Let me go!” Yang’s voice was frantic and shaking. 

There was more grunting and screaming, more chairs being tossed around and glass shattering. The crowd on the dance floor stared at the ceiling, trying to pinpoint where the scuffle was. A few of them had walked out of the front door, some to circle to the side of the house and some to find their cars and leave. 

“Stay still, you stupid bitch.” Cardin grunted. 

“What the hell is happening here?” That same familiar voice from earlier was louder and much more real than it had been that night. The clarity of it made the hairs on the back of Blake’s neck stand and her stomach churn. “What the fuck is she doing here?” 

Blake squared her jaw and felt her chin ache. Phantom pains began sprouting everywhere. Her mind was conjuring nightmares and her body remembered pain she had desperately tried to forget. This time, she turned to Fox and Velvet and begged. 

“Let’s go.” 

Her two friends nodded and did as she had requested. They recognized the danger as well and they crossed the street to find the car, dodging the other party-goers who had decided they didn’t want to stay either. 

She prayed Yang would get out safely, but the sound of another glass breaking tamped down whatever hope she had left of that. 

Her car was in sight, parked underneath that same streetlight after what felt like an eternity. She fumbled for her keys, patted herself down to find them. Velvet shoved her hand in her pocket and pulled the infernal thing out. 

“I’ll drive.” The girl said brusquely. 

Blake could only nod and slip into the backseat of her car. Velvet didn’t even put her seat belt on before she started the car and eased the black sedan out of its parking space. Blake couldn’t bring herself to worry about that right now. 

She looked out of the window, vaguely aware of Fox’s hand on her shoulder. 

Tonight had been a terrible idea, a reckless one and downright stupid. None of them spoke about it. None of them mentioned how they just left their other friends behind, how they left Yang Xiao 

Long to the mercy of some frat boys and how they heard the chilling voice of Adam Taurus inside the house. 

Blake shivered at the thought. Fox reached for a blanket in the passenger’s seat and wrapped her in it. She watched the streetlights disappear and reappear outside, allowing Fox to comfort her in some small way that he could. She tried desperately to make sense of the chaos hammering in her chest. She felt panic and fear and worry gnawing at her, eating her from the inside. 

Adam was there. She was this close to seeing him again. 

Blake felt the phantom pains again – memories of how much her body had endured. She remembered the first time he Adam hadn’t meant to do it, then the time Blake had tested his patience and he lost control. She remembered the second time and the third; and the fourth until it all became a blur. 

She couldn’t stop thinking of Adam’s face and all of the excuses he had. He used to wear a smile that held the entirety of Blake’s world. She loved his smile until that became a nightmare too. 

Blake pulled the blanket Fox had wrapped her in closer, wanted to hide underneath it. She opted to lean further into her seat, pressing herself close to the window as she continued to stare into the void. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and caught a faint scent of lavender. 

She wondered if Yang was safe. 


	9. Given Half the Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every decision has consequences and Yang has to answer for each major ones.

It was true that it’s always darkest before the dawn, but nobody ever mentioned anything about how cold it was. 

There were a few other cars in sight, probably making their way back to their apartments, but with better heating. The old yellow hatchback was already trying to say goodbye, but Yang Xiao Long was stubborn and a little too sentimental and, for the first time, cold. 

She wanted to run the red light when she reached an intersection. Nobody else was here. No other cars, no other piss drunk dude, no cop either. No witnesses, but she didn’t want to worry about another thing. She just wanted a smooth, worry-free ride back home. 

Her body was aching and any slight movement shot a sharp pain through her hips. There was the slight chance that she might have dislocated a shoulder after last night’s brawl. How that little balcony had fit five people, Yang didn’t know and she didn’t care. She just wanted to go home and get some sleep. 

It didn’t help that her jeans and her right shoe smelled like beer. Some idiot had actually tried to pour beer all over her as she quickly made her exit from the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House. 

She should remember to thank Neptune and Sun for their help, no matter how delayed it might have been. She could have gotten it worse. Heck, even Coco freaking Adel was there and she had told Cardin and Adam to let her go. That was pretty big of her. 

Yang turned the corner, her apartment building coming into view. The only lights Yang could see were the streetlights. Everything was dark. All of the apartments, all of the windows, everything. She drove the car a little bit to the side, no use parking properly at this dreadful hour. She just needed a minute to compose herself. 

She grabbed her Scroll lying on the passenger’s seat and turned the screen on. She had twenty- eight unread messages, seventeen missed calls and five voicemails. 

_I feel so fucking special._

Nora had been the one to send her nine messages and two voicemails. That was only second to Pyrrha who had left seven messages, four missed calls and a single voicemail. Ren was the one who called the most; Jaune and Neptune had both left her one texts , one voicemail and two missed calls. 

Dust, even Weiss had sent her two texts. 

She skimmed through her inbox, swiping away the missed calls as she went. Her fingers felt big and clunky as she clicked away, reading all of the where are you’s and the why aren’t you picking up? 

Yang u ok? Pls call back.  
Neptune, 11:12 pm, 08-25-17 

Yang rolled her eyes and suddenly regretted it. Neptune was a good guy and he was genuinely concerned about her. She probably wouldn’t have gotten out without him. Well, maybe she would have, but she was still grateful for Neptune and Sun’s help last night. 

She felt a sudden headache. She felt a slight a disappointment that Blake and Velvet hadn’t tried to contact her at all. Not that she had ever gotten the girl’s number, but she could have at least asked through Velvet. 

She was irked by Velvet’s silence, now that she had thought about it. The girl was always caring and Yang had considered the girl a friend after their backroom banters and work discussions. But now, Yang sort of felt betrayed somehow. 

Yang swallowed that disappointment down and continued scrolling through her inbox to see a curt message wedged between Nora’s all-capital letters and Weiss’ “You could at least call” message. She had missed it before, but now that she’s seen it clear as day, she felt a panic rising to her chest. 

I’m going to bed. Use your keys.  
Ruby, 11:23 pm, 8-25-17

Yang rushed to bring her dying yellow hatchback back to life, putting it into gear and stepping on the accelerator as she rushed to the apartment. She cursed herself on the way because how could Yang Xiao Long, a responsible, functioning twenty-one-year-old girl forget about a living, breathing, extremely stress-inducing, sixteen-year-old girl waiting for her in her apartment? 

Her car stopped and restarted partway through, but the parking sort of went smoothly. A million horrific thoughts began to swim in her mind, worry gnawing at her as she raced the short distance to the front of the apartment building. 

With freezing hands and an irritating ache in her hips and left shin, Yang jumped out of the car and clumsily locked the doors. She dashed to the front entrance, almost running into Mr. Dormitorio in the lobby, whispering to one of his succulents in his bathrobe as he stared at her in slight horror and confusion. 

“Partied hard, gotta pee.” Yang muttered as she ran past him, towards the elevator. 

Thankfully, the strange man said nothing more, content to return to his potted plants and whatever it was he usually did in the day. This wasn’t the first time that the tenant of Room 407 had done this. 

Yang had caught the abject scent of sweat in the elevator when the doors slid open. With little hesitance and great urgency, she stepped inside, ignoring the sickening smell. It didn’t sit well with the strange, odorous smell she herself was emitting. 

She stood in the middle, not wanting to touch the walls in the event that the smell of sweat had 

come from impatient horn dogs in the apartment. 

The elevator panel had signaled her arrival on the fourth floor. The doors had barely opened when yang pried them apart and she jogged towards her apartment, fumbling about with her keys. She made sure not to drop them and wake anybody up at this hour.

She was slightly afraid that Pyrrha nikos in Room 409 would open her door and see yang in such an unkempt state. Well, much more unkempt than usual. She didn’t want the other woman to think less of her. After all, she did blow off Pyrrha’s invitation and ignored her texts and calls only a few hours ago. 

Who was she to disturb her neighbor’s beauty sleep? 

Yang had managed to open her door quietly, taking one last look at Room 409’s door as she snuck into her own apartment. The trip from the front door to her bedroom was – thankfully – uneventful, quiet as she remembered to grip her keys tightly to keep them from jangling. 

The moment she had closed her bedroom door, Yang sighed deeply, allowing the mustiness of her room to finally warm her. Her legs were just about to give in and her hip was screaming at her to lie down, but there was still the dried beer on her pants and shoes to worry about. 

She locked her door and stared at her reflection in her greasy full-length mirror at the far end of the room, staring at her battered reflection in the twilight, at her matted hair, her stretched beige shirt and the green stains on the knees of her jeans. 

She looked awful and that was before she noticed the bruising on her upper right arm and left temple. 

That fight with Cardin... She hadn’t meant to take him on. Yang just wanted to leave, to walk past him, but his hand was on her shirt and he tugged her close to him, so suddenly, so forcefully that she might have sprained an ankle in the process. 

What else was she supposed to do then? Yang Xiao long didn’t cry. No, Yang was a fighter. The way she threw her arm back and had her fist slam against Cardin’s ear was an automatic response. Everything else that happened had been Cardin reacting to Yang and Yang reacting to him. 

That was when the Chi Rho Delta Lambda chancellor had walked in on them in between blows, Adam Taurus, she recalled, some hotshot lawyer’s son who should have graduated and left Beacon two years ago. He was pissed when he had seen what Yang and Cardin and done to their little smoking lounge. That old table was broken and only one of the chairs had survived. Unfortunately, Adam Taurus was more upset about the ashtray Yang had chucked at his feet than the window Cardin broke with his head. 

Adam Taurus. 

Yang had only ever seen Adam once or twice before last night and he always had that scowl on his face. But he had always seemed so cool, calm, collected. She assumed it was because was under a lot of stress and pressure. Lawyer’s son? The head of a fraternity? Babysitting a bunch of burly reckless assholes? 

Adam Taurus was a strange character, especially since he had just let Yang go. She had been expecting some sort of threat or the good ol’ pound of flesh type of compensation, but Adam had looked her straight in the eye and calmly told her to leave the House. 

So, Yang had left. 

She had gotten a lot of dirty looks when she trotted down the stairs. Everyone had been staring at her, stepping away from her as she crossed the dance floor undeterred. Neptune and Sun were close behind her, followed by Coco freaking Adel and that one guy who towered over them. Jaune was nowhere to be seen, but Yang had heard him calling out to her as she stumbled out to the front lawn, tripping over a well-placed foot and getting beer spilled down her pants. 

Sun and Neptune rushed to help her up, worried that she was a lot more hurt than she would let on. But that was how she was. Still, she appreciated not crawling back to her car. 

Coco and her friend had bid them goodbye, heading off towards their own car. Sun and Neptune were the only ones who had walked her to her own car and waited for her to be on her way. She managed to send them away, back to the party. 

She had no idea how long she sat there, unmoving, replaying the events on the balcony, in the kitchen, the walk to her car and the conversation she had with Blake. 

Blake Belladonna. 

Yang would call her, check up on her and see if she was okay; to see if she had made it out of the Lambda House without a scratch. But that was the problem. Yang didn’t have her number, so Yang couldn’t call her at all. Blake had never given it to her and Yang had never found a reason to ask for it. Not after the girl had turned her down, that is. 

Yang absent-mindedly combed her fingers through her hair, tugging harshly when she heard the chiptune staccato ringtone. She pulled her Scroll out of her pocket and frowned. 

Raven is caling... 

Yang groaned and felt her heart rate pick up. She took one last look in the mirror, feeling the device vibrate in her hands. She decided that she needed to throw the shirt out and soak her jeans as soon as possible. 

She could just let it ring. Raven would just get tired and send her a barrage of angry text messages like she always does, but Yang felt a ghostly whisper, telling her to pick up and talk to her mother. 

She unbuttoned her jeans with one hand and answered the call, feeling her throat go dry, “Hi, mom.” 

“What were you thinking?” Raven’s voice cut through the line, cold, demanding and extremely, very angry. 

Yang blinked, “What are you talking–“ 

“To think that I’d first hear about this from my friend.” Raven continued, voice still as shrill and unforgiving, “Two in the morning! A friend of mine calls me up and tells me that my daughter had attacked – not one – but two Lambda Fraternity brothers.” 

Yang breathed through her nose. She just couldn’t catch a break. She had hoped Raven wouldn’t find out about it this weekend, but it was barely twelve hours and somebody had already called her. 

“Would you care to explain yourself?” Raven practically shouted over the line. 

Would you care? 

Yang bit her lip and retreated onto her bed, getting the wind knocked out of her as she fell 

backwards. She kept her legs off of her sheets, careful not to get the stench onto them. 

Yang bit her lip and retreated onto her bed, keeping her legs off of her sheets to keep the stench of dried beer and wet jeans off of them. She had gotten the wind knocked out of her as she fell backwards. Raven must have heard it. Yang wanted her to. She wanted to let Raven scream and shout over the line, to bring up past mistakes and threaten her. Because, really, what else was there to say? 

Yang wasn’t even sorry. 

“You listen to me,” Yang heard the sound of a chair creaking, “you are going to apologize to the Lambda Fraternity come Monday morning.” 

“I don’t think I’m allowed anywhere near them.” Yang stifled a yawn. 

“You have no right to make excuses.” Raven snapped, “I’m doing everything I can to keep you from getting expelled. You destroyed school property and assaulted another student. I may as well be keeping you from going to prison, Yang. So you better do as I say or this is the last time you’ll hear from me.” 

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat. Expelled? Prison? This was probably the worst Raven had ever threatened her. In normal circumstances, Yang wouldn’t have believed it, but this time, she knew for herself, that she had gone too far and sometimes, these things have consequences. 

“The Lambda Fraternity won’t press charges,” Raven sighed over the line, “if you write a formal apology to them. I just got off the phone with one of the parents and we have come to the agreement. They won’t report your little misconduct to the school as long as you write the damn letter and pay for the damages.” 

Money. 

She could probably pay it off. She had, in fact, just inherited quite a bit of money from her father and they were old tables and a window. “How–“

“I’ve already transferred the money to them.” Raven said curtly, condescension evident in her tone, “It’s not as if you could come up with even half of the settlement in a month, working as a dog nanny. We will discuss this on a later date. What you need to do is start on that apology and you better make it good.” 

Yang stared up at the ceiling. She wanted so much to tell Raven that she could afford to pay for college on her own now, she could afford to pay off settlement, that she no longer needed her “kind, motherly donation” if it meant being indebted to the woman for the rest of her life. 

She’ll make do. She had always made the most of everything. 

“Do I make myself clear?” Raven sounded a lot calmer now, expectant and a little bit nervous. 

This was one of those games, Yang thought – the long games. She was never very good at playing mind games or had the patience to keep up with them, but after being her parents’ pawn for so long, she began to understand. 

Two can play at this game, albeit, one of them could at least try. 

“I’ll write the letter.” Yang finally said. 

Raven released a breath she had been holding and there was a certain eerie lilt to her voice as she 

bid Yang goodbye, “This must never happen again. Now, the next time I call, you pick up. It’s the least you could do for your mother.” 

Before either of them could say anything else, Raven had ended the call. Yang stretched her arms over her head, ignoring the ache in her hip and her shoulder. She wanted to scream, to shout, to toss and turn and flail about, but she was exhausted. 

She had intended to smash her Scroll against the wall but she had half-heartedly tossed it off of the bed and heard the muffled thud of the device. 

She basically ripped her shirt off, the sweat and sticky traces of beer had been a grave discomfort. She squirmed out of her equally sticky jeans and felt the coolness of her sheets seeping into her battered bones. Her hair caught in an elbow or shoulder as she moved and she wished she were bald, absent-mindedly thinking that she should get a haircut when the sun was finally up. But she knew she would regret it if she went through with it. 

She was hyperaware of how unreasonable and ridiculous it was to be mad at her own hair. 

Yang tossed and turned; eyes as hot and heavy as her head. Everything was sticky and itchy and she hated the fact that she heard a door open and close outside of her room. She wanted at least five more minutes to herself, to just be a useless heap of flesh and bones, but she couldn’t even have that. 

Not when Ruby Rose was knocking on her door, “Yang, is that you or should I call the cops?” 

Yang felt the anger rising to her head. That was the stupidest thing anyone would ever say. In the event that she was a real intruder, Ruby would have made herself a victim. 

“Go away, Ruby.” Yang yelled, the anger still throbbing in her skull. 

“Your friend was here last night.” Ruby knocked again. 

“What friend?” Yang pushed herself off the bed and pulled the door open. 

Ruby stared at her, eyes moving up and down, up, center, back up and finally down to her feet, “Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?” 

“You’re just jealous.” Yang stuck her tongue out, “Now tell me who was here last night and why.” 

Ruby shook her head and turned away from Yang, walking over to the kitchen, “Some redhead says she was calling and you weren’t picking up. Bad date, huh?” 

Yang followed her the entire time. The morning chill felt amazing on her body. Ruby must have doubted she would walk around in her own apartment naked. 

“Pyrrha?” She was Yang’s only redheaded friend. Oh wait, it could be Nora. She was technically a redhead, “Did she have long hair?” 

“Yeah.” Ruby grabbed an empty glass and eyed Yang, blanching at her half-naked sister in the kitchen, “People eat here, you know.” 

Ruby’s voice was sharp, so high-pitched, so insanely annoying and it didn’t help with Yang’s headache. 

Yang opened the fridge and examined the emptiness. Apart from the milk carton, there was an 

empty jar of jam, half a bar of butter and an egg tray with a packet of ketchup. She grabbed the milk carton with a groan. She shook the box, to estimate how much more there was left and decided it wasn’t even enough for her to drink. So she closed the refrigerator, gulping down the remnants of the milk and sat herself down on the dining table. 

“Leave some for me.” Ruby whined. 

“Oh my – dude, your voice – shut up.” Yang slammed her head against the table, “There’s not even enough for your stupid cereal.” 

“We don’t have cereal.” Ruby whined, but Yang noted that it was softer than it was earlier. Still, the sound of her opening and closing the refrigerator was like a fanfare through Yang’s head, followed by a soft thud that echoed on the table. “Here.” 

Yang looked up from her misery and stared at the economy pack of mixed vegetables. Ruby had her back turned to Yang, standing on her tiptoes to open the cupboard and then close it again. Finally, she settled on the bag of bread and popped a couple into the toaster. 

Yang frowned. No milk. No cereal and no more eggs? She swore she still had some yesterday. She stared at Ruby, pulling out the butter from the fridge and standing by the toaster, watching the bread heating up inside. 

“What did you eat last night?” Yang carefully placed the ice pack over her temple. 

“Eggs.” Ruby said plainly after the ding of the toaster, “I know how to make scrambled eggs, even without mayo.” 

“Who eats scrambled eggs with mayonnaise?” Yang whined, shifting on the seat and suddenly feeling how half-clothed she was. 

“Normal people.” Ruby violently slathered her bread with butter, “Jeez. It didn’t even matter if you came home last night because we’re out of food. I should have told Mr. Ozpin that.” 

“Ozpin?” Yang pulled glared at the back of her sister’s head, “Was he here too? Dude, stop letting people into my apartment!” 

“No!” Ruby turned to her, biting off a huge chunk of her toast with an equally terrifying glare, “I called him. He told me to call him when something was wrong and what was wrong was that you weren’t home last night and that you didn’t answer my messages or called. Your friend even showed up and she looked at me and...” 

Tears. There were tears in the corners of Ruby’s eyes as she bit off another chunk of her toast, swallowing it like she hadn’t eaten in days. Yang felt her throat constricting and turned away. 

“You don’t tell people about me.” Ruby said. 

It wasn’t a question and it was the truth. Yang had never told anyone of her friends about Ruby Rose, about how she had gone back to Patch to get her inheritance and her little sister, about how incompetent she was to take care of her. 

They would look at her in horror. Yang couldn’t even get groceries for herself and now she found out that she couldn’t even feed her little sister. She was already living in shame. She didn’t need more. 

But this was different. Now, she had a bit of money and her mother was still paying for her college tuition. She could go out and get some groceries for herself and Ruby, odd as it felt. 

“You can’t keep me a secret forever, you know.” Ruby turned back to her other toast, gently spreading the butter all over the other one. 

“I know.” Yang whispered to the mixed vegetables, “I just don’t talk about home much.” 

“Do they know you don’t talk to your family?” And then there was that smallness in Ruby’s voice again, like she was somewhere so far away that Yang couldn’t reach. 

“I’m talking to you.” Yang muttered. 

Ruby scoffed, “So, we’re family now.” 

Yang pushed herself off the table, cradling the bag of mixed vegetables against her head. She took small yet determined steps towards Ruby, watching the girl nibble away at her burnt toast. She looked so much like she did when she was nine years old. 

Yang sighed and leaned against the counter, “We will always be family, just not... well, we weren’t a pretty good one, but you and me? We’re gonna have to try.” 

“I’m trying.” Ruby pouted, crumbs along the edges of her lips, “But you’re never around. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. You ran away, remember?” 

“This again, huh?” Yang rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, this again.” Ruby puffed her chest out and tried to look so much taller than she truly was, “No visit, no call, no text, not even Christmas letters or a stupid store-bought birthday card. We didn’t even know if you were still alive until dad called your mom last year.” 

“They talked?” 

“He was dying.” Ruby wiped the crumbs off her face, “Of course, they talked.” 

Yang bit her lip and stared at the milk carton on the table. Her mother and father had talked the year before and it would seem that they talked about her. Raven would have said something if Taiyang had a message to pass on to her, but all she had ever heard from Raven were demands and threats and an awkward introduction to one of her friends’ sons. 

Did Taiyang ask Raven what had happened after she left? Did her father tell Raven to keep Yang or convince her not to come back? I mean, it wasn’t as if she had an urge to return home at some point, but she had never heard of anyone asking her to come back or preventing her from it. 

It used to hurt until eventually it was forgotten. If Yang was being honest with herself, she was expecting a last letter from her father, a dying message, written in practically illegible handwriting – words that he needed for Yang to receive before he passed on. But there was no letter. There were no words. There were no messages. 

Taiyang Xiao Long was gone and with him was the affirmation Yang forced herself to believe she didn’t need. Not that he had ever given it in his life. 

A girl can dream of acceptance. 

“Why’d you leave?” Ruby interrupted with steel in her voice. The little girl was gone too, hidden behind thousands upon thousands of reinforced steel walls. 

_Please stay._

There was no escaping this one. She could definitely lie to Ruby, but what would be the point? All her life, she had been running from that afternoon, how her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. Apparently, she hasn’t stopped running ever since and Yang Xiao Long was exhausted.

Yang thought of that afternoon in Patch, in their old home, in the living room with the impressive entertainment system her father loved too much. It was stifling and her shirt had clung to her skin, but she had been sweating for a different reason.

She was eighteen and had just gotten through a bad breakup – not that the relationship was any better. She was sad and defiant and feeling completely impervious, as if she could take on the world. She was -bulletproof. Heartbreak would do that sometimes – caution thrown to the wind, to be so reckless, so insincere if only to excuse ourselves from the heartache ringing in the quiet.

Taiyang had sprained his ankle from the dojo and had been sprawled over the couch, watching TV. Ruby was in the kitchen, browsing through the Internet for memes or whatever it was she had been fixated on. Yang had been pacing about behind her father, having finished packing to spend two weeks with her mother.

Her father had been kind enough that week, better than he had been in a long time and Yang felt that maybe, just maybe, she had her father back, the same one who taught her how to use chopsticks, how to ride a bike, how to throw a punch and how to tie a necktie, for some odd reason.

He was Taiyang Xiao Long again, the man who said that he’d love her even if she’d turn into an ursa or had picked a fight with a boy in middle school.

So, that afternoon, Yang strode into the living room with the fear burning in her throat, courage pumping through her veins and she stood in front of her father. He smiled then, that same boyish grin Yang had seen him wear after she had done something that made him proud.

That was all it took to prompt her to speak. It came tumbling out of her lips, through the chattering of her teeth and the hammering in her skull and for a moment, Yang felt like she wasn’t alone, that she had had no reason to be so afraid. Taiyang Xiao Long was smiling at her and every worry, every fear, all those secret nights had been for nothing.

Until he looked away, back to the television screen or the dusty old carpet. He was silent and the longer he remained silent, the longer his face remained a blank facade, Yang felt less impervious, less courageous and more reckless.

“Say something.” She demanded of him then, at the top of her lungs, her voice hoarse and the heat was prickling the corners of her eyes. She had heard the sound of a chair dragging across the wooden floor in the distance.

“I don’t...” Taiyang muttered, “What am I **supposed** to say?”

Yang felt like she had been punched in the stomach then, much worse than falling off the railing onto the balcony, much worse than Cardin Winchester throwing her to a chair. This was her father. She came to him for help, for support and here he was again, asking her what he was supposed to say to her?

She should have screamed at him then, to express the six years of excusing his incompetence. She should have demanded that he act like an adult and treat her like one, but the way he looked at her from the couch, she felt like a little girl, so broken, so lonely, crawling into the attic to stare out the window. The glass had been so cold, but the tears hadn’t come that morning and they would definitely not come that afternoon, no matter how much it hurt.

“Something useful for once in your life!” Yang had shouted, biting back the tears. No, she needed anger, not sadness. She wasn’t a twelve-year-old girl then, she was eighteen, she was an adult and she had to put him in his place, “Anything other than _what am I supposed to say_ would be enough.”

“Watch your tongue, young lady!” he struggled to his feet, as if his ankle was never sprained, “I am your father.”

“Then act like it.” Yang couldn’t hold back or step down then – fighting was all she knew, “I’m tired of taking care of you, of explaining things to you. I need you. I need my dad... but you’re this useless bag of bones and – say something. **Anything**.”

“Go to your room.” Taiyang stepped into her space and stared her down, “You’re being rude. I did not raise you to act li–“

“You **didn’t** raise me.” Yang stood her ground, shoulders squared and unflinching under father’s gaze, “You think it was easy to just watch you wither away after mom left? You couldn’t even feed yourself. So, you got yourself a new girlfriend to fix you and after she died, I was back to being your fucking mother.”

“Language!”

“I will say whatever I goddamn please!” Yang shouted over him. The tears had desperately tried to force their way out, but Yang was stronger. “I can’t take care of you, dad. I just bared my soul, my heart out to you. I needed to hear you tell me it’s going to be okay, not ask me how to be a damn father.”

Taiyang had dropped his shoulders and sighed, making his way back to the couch with the sprained ankle that his body suddenly remembered, “It’s going to be okay. Is that what you want?”

Everything that followed after was a blur. Yang couldn’t remember if she immediately ran out to the hallway or went back upstairs to pack more clothes. Taiyang had been shouting more things, but they must not have been important to her.

Yang did remember talking to Ruby. Was it while she was packing in her bedroom or was it right before she stormed out of the house?

“It’s going to be okay, Yang.” She had said and it sounded so hollow, so meaningless, like an echo after shouting into the void, “I still love you.”

Yang did remember pushing past her and Taiyang shouting more words and more empty threats. Yang would get a massive headache each time she thought about that afternoon and then her heart would break when she remembered Ruby’s tiny voice.

“Please stay.” Ruby had begged.

Yang didn’t bother trying to remember exactly how and where they were when the girl had said it. Her voice alone was painful enough to have been emblazoned into her mind, into her waking nightmares.

Ruby was just a little kid then. She wouldn’t have truly understood exactly what had happened, but she had said those things to Yang, not because she had asked. Yang wondered if she had meant it, wondered if Ruby would have thought of saying it if she hadn’t heard Yang demanding it from their father.

Three years have gone by and here they were, standing in Yang’s apartment’s kitchen, not quite picking up where they left, but finding themselves thousands of miles from where their relationship had crashed.

Was she overreacting then? Did she say too much or did she not do enough? If that afternoon were to happen now, to her twenty-one-year-old self, she would have reacted differently; she would have handled it much better.

But Yang Xiao Long was who she was now because of that eighteen-year-old runaway; happier, smarter, kinder and a whole lot more forgiving and understanding.

Yang pushed herself off the kitchen counter and picked up the empty milk carton from the table. She wasn’t really ready to say why, afraid that it would be so insignificant. She did just discover that she could have handled it differently.

Without a word, she threw the milk carton into the waste basket and washed her hands. Ruby took a step backwards, allowing Yang the space she needed.

“I shouldn’t have left you.” Yang sighed, turning off the tap and looking over her shoulder at Ruby, “I should have taken you with me.”

Ruby just nodded and Yang wondered just how much growing up the girl had had to do, watching their father recede to drink and locking himself in the living room, watching late-night home shopping networks in the dead of night.

“No,” Ruby sighed, “you should have stayed and have been patient with dad.”

“Ruby, he was our father.” Yang put her hands on her hips and watched as Ruby shrugged, “He wasn’t our pet. Hell, even Zwei knew how to use a stupid can opener, but dad? He should have taken care of us, not left us alone to figure things out for ourselves.”

“And then you left me alone to do just that.” Ruby grumbled, arms folded against her chest, “You don’t remember what you told me after mom’s funeral, do you?”

“Some generic response?” Yang forced a joke, but Ruby just glared at her. At least she tried to look contrite, “I don’t.”

“It’s just you and me now, Ruby.” Ruby mimicked Yang, “I won’t ever leave you.”

The silence hung between them and sucked the air out of Yang. She remembered that. She remembered Ruby following her up to the attic, looking for Summer Rose and all Yang could do was hold her close and promised her she would be there for her.

But she was just a little girl then and she was just as heartbroken about Summer’s death as the rest of the family. She was beside herself, incapable of formulating comprehensible thoughts, let alone know what she should do. She was lonely and confused and in so much pain.

“I’m sorry.” Yang said and the words felt like ash in her mouth.

Ruby sighed, “I’m not stupid, Yang. I knew dad wasn’t the best person in the world, but he was... changing. He was on his way to becoming a cool person and that was enough for me. You know, he tried to make breakfast once. It sucked.”

Ruby laughed and right then and there, she was the same little girl Yang had known, had left behind.

“He was sorry about what happened that day.” Ruby said silently, looking directly at Yang, “He texted, called, but you changed your number. He wrote old-school letters, but then he burned them at the end of the day. I guess I’m the only evidence of his regret left.”

No, this was the girl Yang had left behind. She had been the one who stayed, who took care of her father, who take care of herself. Ruby was fourteen and all she had to rely on was herself.

“I’m sorry.” Yang repeated.

There really was nothing else she could say to repair to make up for what she did. Even her apology felt like a grain of sand against hurricane winds. It felt like it would never be enough.

“I’m sorry too.” Ruby sighed and smiled, “I didn’t understand – back then. I was too young. Maybe, I was just too blind. You ever have that feeling? That you know something, you can tell it’s there, but you just don’t have a word for it?”

“Ignorance is bliss?” Yang said out of place, hoping the string of words was a sufficient response.“Ignorance is bliss?” Yang said out of place, hoping the string of words was a sufficient response.

“Something like that...”

They were silent again, but this time was different. This time, there wasn’t any animosity lingering beneath the surface. It was just Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose, standing in the kitchen and talking like what sisters do, like what family does.

“I guess, it really is just you and me now.” Ruby said and tears were silently streaming down her face, “I need you, Yang. I need my sister. Maybe just until I turn eighteen and then I’m gone. We can’t make up for the three years that you left, but you can at least be here for me now and _call me when you can’t make it home_.”

Yang was taken aback, ashamed that this sixteen-year-old girl was being the more reasonable and mature one. She should be worrying about making friends, partying, dressing up, where to go to college, not about a twenty-year-old fuck-up who had been so, so reckless her entire life.

Yang tried to apologize for the nth time that day and Ruby had finally snapped at her, cast her an angry look and told Yang to keep her apologies and her promises.

“Don’t tell me you’ll promise you’ll try, Yang.” Ruby wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled, “Just do it. Just try.”

Yang Xiao Long was not one to cry. She was a fighter and a fierce hugger. She scooped Ruby into her arms and held her tight, wondering if Ruby had gotten her tenacity and level-headedness from Taiyang or from Summer. It might have been from Summer.

_Vagabonds by day, shelters by night._

No more running, Yang thought. She put Ruby down after a series of muffled protests from the girl, laughing as her sister blushed and wiped her hand against her shirt.

“Want some pancakes?” Yang guffawed.

“Go put some clothes on first.” Ruby whined, “And why are you all sticky?”


	10. I've Longed to Discover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets an earful and a date.

“This’ll be good.” Yang whispered to herself, “You’ll be fine.”

Yang was pacing out in the hallway, moving back and forth between Room 407 and Room 409 and constantly straightening and pulling at her black raglan shirt with “Danger” printed across her chest. She felt naked without her old utility jacket and she wasn’t about to go back to the Lambda House just to try and find it.

It was late. She could come back another time and she didn’t know what her neighbour usually did on Saturday nights. For all Yang knew, Pyrrha could be studying or resting or on a date and Yang was here to intrude with an apology for not showing up or calling back the entire day.

It was odd to her – and a little depressing – that she didn’t know much about Pyrrha Nikos and they’ve lived right across each other for almost two years now.

Yang stood in front of Pyrrha’s door, raised her hand and took a deep, deep breath. Pyrrha has been nothing but nice to her and she’d been paying that kindness back with half-assed promises to hang out and unreturned calls. This time will be different. She had made it a point to not run away anymore.

Yang Xiao Long was no longer a vagabond. This was her home and it was time she start making it feel like one.

She knocked twice, loud enough to be heard, but not to seem as if she were angry.

She could come back another time. It was Sunday and Pyrrha would probably be resting or studying or something and Yang didn’t really have much to say except that she was sorry for missing Weiss’ soiree.

But Pyrrha called four times last night and Yang hadn’t called back the entire day, having that heart-to-heart with Ruby in the morning, dozing off a bit and finally getting groceries and making dinner.

_I should’ve asked Pyrrha to dinner._

Yang bit her tongue and felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Her mind was playing tricks on her. That only seemed like a horrible implication, but it truly wasn’t. Ruby would be there and it wasn’t as if it were a date or if she had any sort of attraction to her neighbour.

_Weiss is going to kill me._

She sighed right when the door opened and Pyrrha Nikos stood there with a hesitant smile on her lips. Yang couldn’t help but think that Pyrrha was a little disappointed. She was probably expecting somebody else, or maybe she was expecting Yang to come knocking on her door with tears and a serious excuse for ghosting her.

“Hey, Pyrrha.” Yang intoned.

Pyrrha leaned on her doorway and frowned, “Where were you last night?”

_Straight to the point._

“About that...” Yang cleared her throat, trying her best to avoid Pyrrha’s gaze, “I went to the... Lambda House.”

“So you blew me and Weiss off for a party?” Pyrrha nodded curtly, “I’m surprised, Xiao Long.”

Yang swallowed the lump on her throat. Pyrrha never called her by her last name, not unless her first name was attached in the front. Never. Not even as a joke.

But Yang had already made too many mistakes; lying to Pyrrha’s face at this moment was something she did not want to add to that list. Yang thought she could probably get away with telling snippets of the truth, only key bits of information from last night, but this was Pyrrha and there really was no lying about the five-foot-something kid in her apartment.

“I sure have a lot of explaining to do, huh?” Yang laughed nervously.

Pyrrha just stared at her, nonplussed, unmoved, a tad bit uninterested, but at least she wasn’t mad at Yang. Her neighbour nodded for her to continue, knowing how uncomfortable Yang was to standing outside in the hallway, held at arm’s length like a rabid dog.

“I probably pissed Ren and Nora too.” Yang remarked and instantly regretted it after Pyrrha’s disapproving look, “I just wanted to talk to you first.”

“I’m listening.” Pyrrha said.

“I’ll start off with the Lambda House.” Yang slipped her hands into her pockets, “I was just supposed to drop this guy off – and before you ask, I’m not interested in him – something sort of happened and I got locked in one of the rooms.”

“Locked?” Pyrrha’s face contorted into horror and disgust.

“Nothing like that!” Yang waved her arms about and laughed nervously, “I was with a girl – and it was nothing like **that** too. Just, I was pissed off at this Lambda frat boy and our little argument turned into a permaban that I didn’t know of, so a couple of my friends locked me in a room with a girl who is, I guess, permabanned too.”

“Yang.” Pyrrha sighed and shook her head, “What you’re saying isn’t helping. It sounds like–“

“I know what it sounds like, Pyrrha. Lies. But I’m telling the truth and yeah, I’m real messed up, but I’m sorting things out and I should have called, but...”

But what? There was nothing that stopped her from calling back. She was just having a bad morning and there was nothing in her afternoon that could have kept her from calling. In fact, she patiently waited for Ruby to pick out fresh produce. The girl had taken fifteen minutes just looking for a pack of carrots.

“It’s not easy.” Pyrrha added for her, voice so soft and motherly and... forgiving? “I figured you just needed time to let things sink in, you know, about your father.”

Yang narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. How was her father fitting into this scenario? He was six feet under the ground, in Patch, far, far away from her. Sure, things between Yang and her sister were okay, but her father was still dead.

“Pyrrha, I’m fine.” Yang raised her hands in surrender, shaking her head as she tried to fight the laugh that was growling in her throat, “This isn’t about – But yeah, it’s not easy and adjusting is real hard and this whole thing didn’t exactly come with an instruction manual. Like, step one, feed child every five hours or she’d call social services on your ass.”

Pyrrha giggled, honest to goodness giggled, and Yang finally felt like she was getting through to Pyrrha, that her pathetic apology was working. Yang smiled. She wasn’t as bad at this as she thought she was.

“She doesn’t look like a child.” Pyrrha no longer stood like she was getting ready to slam the door on Yang’s face. She actually leaned closer, her hand far away from the doorknob and mere inches away from Yang’s. “You never mentioned you had a sister.”

“Half-sister.” Yang huffed and laughed, “She looks more like her mom. She’s seventeen – wait, no – sixteen. Still sixteen. Right. Ruby Rose. Her last name’s Rose. That’s her mom’s last name too. Why she didn’t take Xiao Long is probably because of some hippie stuff my step-mom loved so much.”

Pyrrha stayed silent for a moment, staring at her like she had sprouted three more heads and was drooling sludge.

“It’s complicated.” Yang admitted, shoulders slumped forward and she shrugged in defeat, “I don’t know why I didn’t tell anyone before – no, no, no – I **do** know why, I just **really** didn’t want to tell anyone. Am I talking too much?”

Pyrrha shook her head and Yang really liked her bright green eyes, “No, you’re not. This is a pretty rare moment, if you think about it – you talking.”

“Ha ha.” Yang groaned, “Nora said I never stop talking.”“Ha ha.” Yang groaned, “Nora said I never stop talking.”

“Maybe.” Pyrrha said softly, hugging herself, “But you don’t talk about yourself much. Yang, I found out you had a sister last night. I was really shocked and a little bit hurt.”

“I didn’t mean–“ Yang whispered.

“I get it though.” Pyrrha assured her, “I get that there are some things you wouldn’t really tell your neighbour, like family stuff, but I just want to make things clear between the two of us.”

There really wasn’t anything to clear between the two of them, apart from last night’s failure to communicate with all of her friends. Well, maybe there was something, but Yang had no inkling of what that something was.

So, she waited and Pyrrha seemed to be waiting for her too. It was a staring contest; both of them more than ready to forfeit the moment the other would turn away.

“We’re friends, Yang.” Pyrrha finally said, “And friends worry about each other. I’m not going to hold last night against you. You have every right to do what you want to do, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me. Or Weiss.”

“Weiss.” Yang snickered. The princess didn’t really like her and there was nothing Pyrrha could say that would change her opinion.

“So,” Pyrrha ignored the tone in which she said Weiss’ name, “the next time you can’t make it home, you call me.”

“Dude, you sound like my mom.” Yang groaned.

“Yes, but it’s not really for you.” Pyrrha laughed, “It’s for your sister.”

“Oh.” Yang whispered. Of course, it wasn’t for her. She knew that.“Oh.” Yang whispered. Of course, it wasn’t for her. She knew that.

“There’s a saying about a child and a village.” Pyrrha shrugged, “I’d hate for your sister to be alone and I know you have places to be. It’s something to remember for next time, okay?”

Yang nodded resolutely. Pyrrha just smiled at her and had invited her inside, but it was getting late and she had a few more calls to make, people to make amends with and waiting for calls that would never ever come through – the usual.

It was a quick good night, but it was a pretty good one, with Pyrrha repeating that she was just across the hall if Yang needed her help.

Yang felt a little bit better as she trotted back to her apartment, feeling that maybe Ren and Nora might not be upset with her for last night. She knew they wouldn’t. Ren and Nora weren’t the type to hold a grudge or be offended by a sudden absence or change of plans, but Yang felt that she had to draw the line somewhere.

Ruby had just finished putting the dishes away, wiping down her hands and giving Yang an awkward smile as she passed to go to her room. There was still that awful awareness that they knew practically nothing about each other. The two of them had promised to communicate and understand each other, but it had been a long day and Yang was really looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep.

Yang went about her usual nightly rounds, circling the apartment to make sure that her door was locked and the windows were all latched shut followed by another round of that, door, windows, washing her face in the bathroom and then it was off to bed with her.

Sunday mornings were meant for sleeping in; raindrops falling outside and creating this soothing soundtrack for Yang’s sleep cycle. They would both sleep in, she and Ruby, then they would have breakfast and have more awkward talks and fill in the last three years with stories that they think would be a good idea to tell, but that was for later. Now was for basking in the coolness of the morning and the numbness on her toes.

And the ringing of her Scroll.

Yang groaned and forced her eyes open. She rolled around in her sheets, patting her bed down to see where her Scroll had been, finding it tucked beneath the small of her back. 8:12 AM.

_Ozyman is calling..._

Whatever love Yang had for this man was now long gone, grumbling as she accepted the call, “Good morning.”

“Friday night, you left your sister in your apartment by herself.” Ozpin began with cold condescension in his tone, “No dinner, no phone call.”

“Do adults no longer do pleasantries?” Yang groaned, recalling how Raven had began their conversation with her reprimands.

“This is serious, Ms. Xiao Long.” Ozpin’s voice rose, “You left a sixteen-year-old girl unsupervised, by herself in your apartment while you flit about at your college parties.”

Yang gripped her Scroll tighter, felt the blood draining from the tips of her fingers, “Dude, you have no idea what I’ve been through last night.”

Ozpin sighed over the receiver, “I understand that being responsible for another human being is new territory for you, Ms. Xiao Long, so I’m willing to let this one go.”

Yang bit her lip, pushed her covers off and sat upright, “What? Really? That’s it? A smack on the hand and that’s all?”

“Clearly, you have no idea about the gravity of your actions.” Ozpin had managed to sneak in a snide remark, “You’re Ms. Rose’s guardian and there are certain expectations of you, primarily, keeping Ms. Rose alive and well. Just think that if you were to leave Ms. Rose again – and she will call me – then I would have no choice but to report you to the authorities.”

“Call the cops?” Yang cleared her throat, “And then what? Go to prison?”

Ozpin sighed, “Let’s not get hasty. There would be a trial and a court of law will decide if you should be fined or jailed or both.”

“Dude.” Yang whispered. Nobody had told her the possibility of being imprisoned. But it truly was an honest mistake and she and Ruby had already talked about it.

“Since we’re already here,” Ozpin continued after a moment of silence, “I’d like to update you regarding the sale of your estate here in Patch.”

“And?” Yang shook her head, reeling from the threat of going to prison and how quickly the subject had changed. This was too early in the morning for this.

“The realtor said that nobody was interested.” Ozpin said so nonchalantly.

Yang wanted to fling herself out of the window, “That’s not an update. That’s the same news from last week.”

“Nobody wants a hunting lodge, Ms. Xiao Long, at least no one here in Patch. It’s a small town.”

“I know, I know.” Yang lay back on her bed, “Word travels fast and almost everyone has a house and wouldn’t want to drive up a steep hill. You and the realtor said that two weeks ago. But someone’s bound to want a hunting lodge, I don’t know, for hunting or something. Just call me when that happens and I’ll drive right over to sign whatever stupid transfer there’d be left.”

“This is noted.” Ozpin said so distantly, almost as if he was writing it down on paper, “We also still haven’t received any news about the Rose family. I had managed to get a number of one of Summer Rose’s distant cousins, but apparently they had moved away several years ago and provided no new contact information.”

“Sweet.” Yang forced herself to laugh, “If there isn’t anything else, I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

“It’s 8:30 in the morning, Ms. Xiao Long.” Ozpin said incredulously.

“I know. It’s Sunday too.” Yang added curtly as she cut the call.

Yang made sure to turn off the Scroll before she fell backwards and buried herself under her sheets. Sunday mornings began at ten and she had an hour and a half until she really had to get up, but she couldn’t seem to get to sleep.

Morning calls were the devil’s work and she vowed never to accept one before nine o’clock, not to mention the people who called her at such an ungodly hour never greeted her and threatened to send her to prison like some common criminal.

Yang Xiao Long made a lot of mistakes, yes, but really, prison?

It sounded like an exaggeration, like the petty threats parents would give their children if they didn’t behave, but this felt so real. It was almost as if Yang could smell the prison bars right in front of her, could feel the dark, cold prison cell in her sleep.

Yang never stopped thinking about what Ozpin said. She spent the better part of Sunday and Monday researching all about the justice system and everything that had to do with being the legal guardian of a minor. Ozpin’s threats were, as a matter of fact, far from being petty and empty. Apparently, Yang’s freedom rested on the whims of her younger sister who may or may not like her.

A part of her wished she hadn’t signed the papers, thinking that anytime Ruby felt like it, she could have the cops knocking on Yang’s door, but it had been three weeks and Ozpin still hadn’t heard back from the Rose family. Yang shuddered at the thought, bit her tongue and forced herself to sleep that Monday night.

Ruby was fine here, with her. Sure, there were still awkward moments, dinners that were far too silent and not-so brief. The young girl would still scurry off to her “bedroom” afterwards and not come out until the crack of dawn, but they were okay, as far as Yang could tell.

Tuesday morning felt like a blur. Other than the usual life and death situation of her old yellow hatchback, it felt like any other Tuesday morning. The rain fell in soft drizzles against her windshield as she pulled into the Hannah Turing library parking lot.

It had been raining a lot these days and Yang had forgotten to bring her umbrella. Or she may have forgotten to own one. She couldn’t tell.

Yang hurriedly locked her car, held her bag over her head and jogged towards the old library, tracking mud all over the entryway, much to the dismay of the middle-aged librarian. Yang shot her an apologetic smile as she ducked into the main hall, walking past the front desk and locating the only two other people in the entire building, seated on one of the long tables.

Ren and Nora were flipping through lecture notes and textbooks. Well, at least Ren was. Nora had her Scroll wedged between her book, reading through her social media timeline or a web comic. The two of them looked at her as she sat down across from them, unceremoniously dumping her bag on one of the vacant chairs.

“Did you guys get my call?” Yang plopped down on the chair and brushed her hair away from her face, “Because I did, you know, call.”

Nora stared at her, eyes as wide as saucers and Ren rolled his eyes and sighed.

They were mad at her, Yang swore. They had branded her a social outcast and she should have realized it when none of them would answer her calls since Sunday night.

“I lost a bet.” Ren solemnly added, returning to his book and lecture notes.

Nora grinned at her, “I bet him you weren’t going to show up.”

“About that...” Yang felt the thumping in her chest, “I was kinda–“

“At the Lambda House.” Nora giggled, “Jaune and I have the same Monday afternoon lecture. He wouldn’t really stop talking about it.”

“You got into a fight?” Ren queried, casting her a brief look and a half-smile before the notes took hold of his attention.

“With all the boys?” Nora scrunched up her face and snickered.

“No.” Yang pouted. Of course, people would spin the story differently. She felt kind of hurt, somehow, that her own friends would think that she would go to a house party and start a fight with anyone. “I should’ve been with you guys.”

“Damn straight.” Nora piped up.

Mrs. Olive Schott, the librarian poked her head inside, short blonde hair bobbing as glared at them. She raised a well-manicured finger to her lips, shushing them with her stone cold gaze. The woman was used to them and Yang felt that, deep down, Mrs. Schott appreciated their presence – in a way.

Nora grinned sheepishly, setting her book upright to hide her Scroll and her face. Ren stiffened as he turned the pages of his lecture notes and Yang pulled her battered textbook out of her bag. After a few moments, Mrs. Olive Schott skipped back out to the front desk, contented with the behaviour of her regulars.

When Yang deemed the coast clear, she leaned forward and whispered, “What’d you guys do?” “Tactical Generals, pizza, cake.” Nora shrugged, “The usual.”

Tactical Generals. Yang had no particular interest in the game when she had seen Ren and Nora play one round. It was a bit complicated and – as the title suggests – tactical. Ren and Nora had different play styles that made them quite the formidable foes. Yang thought she hadn’t had a chance until they forced her to sit down and play with them.

Yang sort of fell into the game, after playing a few rounds. She had been – as Nora put it – balls-deep into the entire franchise that she had spent hundreds of lien for pieces that she could use for her favourite General, Cylia of Whitecover.

They weren’t cheap, but not as expensive as her shampoo.

“That still doesn’t answer why Nora didn’t pick up.” Yang furiously scratched her ear.

“My Scroll kinda fell and got cracked.” Nora said matter-of-factly, “It’s at the service center and the guys there said I could come back in a week. But seriously, Yang, we were trying to contact you Friday night and we only hear from you today?”

“I said I tried calling you, didn’t I?” Yang gritted her teeth, “And I was busy yesterday – with research and Ozpin and the stupid...”

The stupid letter.

The stupid letter that her mother had demanded she write and send out by Monday, but didn’t.

The stupid letter that could keep her from getting expelled, but she had forgotten about.

That stupid letter.

Yang groaned and slammed her head against the rickety table, Ren and Nora staring at her like she had just gone mad. She wanted to explain. She wanted to tell them the things that were

bothering her; the party, her sister, Blake not calling, Raven and her stupid friends, her missing jacket, Velvet not calling, the damn letter she should have written.

“Hey, what’s up?” Nora poked her head.

Yang quickly faced Nora, feeling the need to scream the frustrations she felt. Damned be Mrs. Schott and her icy glare. She bit her tongue, losing all feeling from it just to keep the bubbling anxiety down.

“I’m just tired.” Yang lied again. She absently waved a hand around to keep her friends from staring at her. She didn’t know why she lied or why she didn’t want to let Nora or Ren know what was bothering her, but she was certain she didn’t want to talk about it.

She tried to mutter more excuses, but her thoughts became puddles of murky water. She was just glad that Ren and Nora didn’t pry, leaving her alone to her devices, but constantly glancing at her to make sure she was okay.

Yang had been adamantly refusing their sympathy, stating she didn’t truly need it. She had even been this close to saying that her father’s death was beginning to take its toll on her, but she had kept her mouth shut and tried not to think about the stupid letter she was going to have to write after her shift at Noola’s.

* * *

At three-seventeen in the afternoon, Yang walked through the front door of Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, rubbing at her arm to distract herself from the bareness she felt without her favourite jacket. Ms. Delaney was waiting for her behind the register, a sad smile on her face and a tenderness in her bright blue eyes.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Ms. Delaney said, arms open and waiting for Yang to slip into them, “Welcome back.”

Yang felt a tug in her chest as she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Ms. Delaney’s shoulders. The older woman held her tight, rocking her back and forth as if Yang didn’t tower over her by a foot or two, lightly patting her on the back.

“Thanks for letting me take a leave, Ms. Delaney.” Yang said into her brown curls, “I promise I’ll work extra hours to make up for–“

“It’s okay, Yang.” The older woman gently pushed Yang away and looked up at her with the kind of warmth a mother’s gaze would have, “You don’t have to come in today either. Velvet and I can handle the rest of the week if you need more time.”

Yang laughed, shuffling a few inches from the older woman, suddenly feeling nervous, flattered and worried all at the same time, “That’s fine, Ms. Delaney. After everything that’s happened, I think it would be best to try to return to the normal stuff.”

“Are you sure?” Ms. Delaney cocked her head to the side, worry smeared all over her face.

“I’m a-okay!” Yang announced, raising both hands in mock-surrender. She flashed her brightest smile at her boss before she let herself into the backroom to change into her work clothes.

She passed by the grooming stations where Velvet Scarlatina was brushing a ragamuffin cat’s fur. The two of them briefly locked eyes. Yang wanted to rush over to the backroom to change, but Velvet smiled as if nothing had happened last Friday night. Suddenly, Yang found herself nodding to Velvet before she continued her trip to the backroom.

By the time the blue plastic clock had displayed three-thirty, Yang was already turning the Bluetooth speakers on to a minimal volume and rifling through her playlist. She smiled as she glanced down at the title, pressing play with a little bit more enthusiasm than normal.

Her client was patiently waiting for her in the corner – a three-year-old Japanese Spitz named Snowflakes.

Yang gently lifted the dog onto the table and scratched her ears and tried to massage her spine to get her to be a little bit more calm to Yang. Snowflakes wasn’t the most friendly dog that had ever graced Yang’s station, but she needed a little bit more patience and gentleness than the other dogs.

“But we all have problems...” Yang crooned as she eased Snowflakes into the whole process.

Eventually, Snowflakes had warmed up to her, pressing her snout against Yang’s hand or pawing at her chest or licking Yang’s cheek when she had the chance. Yang had always returned Snowflakes’ kindness with a smile and a little peck on the forehead.

This continued for a while – the dog moving closer to Yang and Yang petting her or scratching her ear. Snowflakes was calm as Yang dried her hair and followed it with a little brushing and trimming. Yang danced to the song, swaying back and forth and singing to her lone audience – the dog brush served as her microphone.

“When’s your album coming out?” a soft giggle pierced through the music.

Yang quickly dropped her hands to her sides and stared at Velvet Scarlatina, watching her from the doorway with a mischievous grin on her face, “Please don’t sneak up on me.”

“Shelby was here the other day.” Velvet continued, “She really missed your singing.”

Yang laughed as she returned her attention to Snowflakes, “Don’t talk about Shelby while Snowflakes is here. She’s the jealous type.”

The two of them laughed at their little joke. They had been working this shift for months now, forming relationships with the animals that would pass through and easily becoming the best workmates in the history of Yang’s working life.

But Yang had never really called Velvet her friend.

They were simply friendly colleagues. Outside of Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, the two of them were practically strangers. If it weren’t for work, Velvet and Yang would only have one thing in common, one common person that bound them together and that one person couldn’t really stand to be around Yang, if the Lambda party was any indication.

“I’m sorry we left you last Friday.” Velvet whispered, her soft voice almost drowned out by the 70s disco track playing in the background.

But Yang had heard her anyway, pretending she wasn’t at all a little surprised by Velvet’s words, “It’s cool. You guys needed to go out anyway.”

“Still,” Velvet sighed, “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any bad thing. You don’t deserve the bad stuff, Yang.”

Yang blew out a steady stream of her breath as she ran the comb over Snowflakes’ fur once more, “Thanks. That Adam Taurus guy broke up the fight and just let me walk out of there. I didn’t realize he was such a cool guy.”

Velvet murmured something, her tone harsh, but Yang didn’t quite catch it over the drum beats and high-pitched singing. By the look on Velvet’s face, Yang thought it would be wise not to ask her about it, opting instead to change the subject.

But, really, apart from work, they only had Blake in common.

“How’s Blake.” Yang asked, regretting the words as they slipped out of her mouth. Yang was certain that she had gotten over her little crush on Blake Belladonna after it had been quite clear that the girl didn’t like her back.

But there was something that night, in Sun and Neptune’s room. It wasn’t the darkness. It wasn’t the sleazy sexual atmosphere oozing from the other room. There was something there. Something had changed that night and Yang Xiao Long couldn’t help but hope and feel like an idiot.

“She’s okay.” Velvet said cheerfully, “She’s coming by later.” Like always.

Yang nodded and returned to Snowflakes, pawing at her chest. She sort of memorized her overlapping hour with Velvet. No sooner than four-fifteen, Blake Belladonna would walk through the front door, asking Ms. Delaney if she could hang around while she waited for Velvet.

That was about the time that Yang would watch the register while Ms. Delaney worked in the backroom or the grooming stations. Before the gret dinner fiasco, Yang had somewhat enjoyed the awkward, quiet moments of being in the same room as Blake, both hyperaware of the other’s presence and discomfort.

After that week, Yang had begged Ms. Delaney to put her on inventory duty at exactly four in the afternoon, taking her time to finish until a little over four-thirty when Blake and Velvet would be long gone.

That was the plan this afternoon.

Yang walked to the register, searching for the checklist under the other forms in the desk drawer. She caught sight of this week’s sheet and stared at the messy handwriting of Louie flipping King. Ms. Delaney had emerged from the backroom, looking at the paper in Yang’s hands before the older woman laughed, explaining that Louie had finished the inventory yesterday after a slight delay in the supplies’ delivery while Yang was away.

“I’m going to be in my office for a little while.” The older woman said, grabbing a stack of papers from the desk drawer, “I have to go through purchase receipts and transmittal forms and crosscheck with the liquidation report. Oh, I’ve been getting a little forgetful. Please mind the counter.”

Without another word, Ms. Lulu Delaney scurried to her office in the far back, squinting at the documents in her hands.

Yang was left in the store front, dumbfounded, anxious. She looked up at the plastic clock – two minutes after two. Blake was going to walk through the front door soon and Yang was stuck there. Maybe Blake would see her from the distance and would just go back to her car to wait for Velvet there.

That scenario was a painful one, yet it was the most plausible one given the current state of their one-sided relationship.

Velvet was in the grooming stations, cleaning up her table before the end of her shift. Yang would have offered to do the cleaning up for her, just so she could have something to do other than standing idly by and watching the girl she liked ignore her because there’s just really so much a girl can take.

But Velvet said she got it, that she was almost done anyway and Yang didn’t really need to fuss over anything until the end of her shift.

Yang was ducked behind the register when the clock struck four-seventeen, straightening and re-straightening stacks of forms, checking to see if they still had enough receipt rolls and if they were easy to reach, when the bell chimed and the front doors opened.

She didn’t need to take a peek to see who it was, “Hello?”

Yang tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and tugged at her ponytail as she rose to her feet, making sure not to stare. But Blake Belladonna was right there, making her way between the aisles, clad in black from her pumps to her black woollen sweater over her white collar shirt.

Yang felt it again, that feeling she felt at the Lambda House, that feeling of when she first saw Blake sitting at the end of the Gender Studies lecture hall, that feeling of warm familiarity melded with the electricity of discovery.

“Hi.” Blake said softly, placing both her hands over the counter by the register.

Yang felt the yearning of holding Blake’s hands, but she crossed her arms instead, plastering on an amiable smile as if she was talking to another customer, as if she didn’t feel like a foolish lovesick puppy barely able to contain the need to be closer.

She wasn’t that kind of person.

“Hi.” Yang intoned.

The plastic clock ticked by; seconds stretching to minutes and the silence felt so endless, broken only by the sound of rustling paper.

This wasn’t awkward. This was okay.

“Thank you.” Blake whispered as she placed a brown jacket on the counter, clean and neatly folded.

But Yang knew it wasn’t brown. It had been olive before the years and poor laundering habits have faded it enough. This was her favourite utility jacket, the same one she threw over the balcony last Friday night.

“Don’t mention it.” Yang squeaked and, dust, why was her voice shaking? She placed a hand over the jacket and pulled it close to her, as if afraid she might lose it again.

“Really,” Blake shook her head and her black hair came tumbling over her shoulders, “thank you... for the other night.”

Yang gaped at the sight of Blake tucking her hair behind her ear and she marvelled at the gold pools of her eyes. She was staring. This wasn’t awkward. This was okay. Yang shook her head and chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes snapped to her own fingers splayed across the fabric of her jacket.

“No, really, don’t mention it.” Yang laughed a little too loudly, robotically, “I must have said some really embarrassing things and I did make an ass of myself. So, I’d rather... It’s fine.”

“You’re not making this very easy.” Blake muttered.

Yang tore her gaze away from her jacket and looked at Blake. The girl was already staring at her. They held each others’ gazes for a few seconds, trying to read each other. The anxiety she had been feeling the entire day crept up on Yang again.

Was Blake here to embarrass her? No, she was here to thank her for the other night. She gave back Yang’s jacket. Right?

“What for?” Yang asked aloud.

“What do you mean?” Blake pulled her hands off the counter and shoved them into her pockets.

Great. Good move, Xiao Long. Perfect thing to say.

“I meant...” Yang cleared her throat to stop her voice from shaking anymore, “Never mind.”

There was that silence again, stretching so mercilessly and painfully, briefly interrupted by the ticking of the blue plastic clock.

Where was Velvet when you needed her?

“Thanks for bringing my jacket back.” Yang finally said, “I thought I’d lost it.”

“You threw it down and Velvet picked it up.” Blake trailed off, “I already washed it.”

Silence again. This was excruciating.

Yang had run out of words to say. Her mind was drawing blanks. The only thing Yang could manage to do was pull her utility jacket close. She hadn’t meant to do it in front of Blake, but she did. She pressed the fabric against her cheeks and caught the familiar scent of Blake’s fabric conditioner.

Her jacket must have smelled like crap that Blake had to throw it in the wash. Wow. This was not awkward. This was embarrassing.

“I’m gonna go call Velvet.” Yang dropped the jacket on the counter and took a few steps back, ready to retreat into the backroom and slam her head against the wall.

“I thought about what you said.” Blake said and her words had rooted Yang to the spot, “What you said in the boys’ room... about sometimes fighting back. I don’t really approve of violence and I must have been very bitchy – that night... I apologize for that. I... I was thinking of myself and I never stopped to consider how you must have felt.”

“Oh.” Yang whispered.

Oh, indeed.

Yang fiddled with the hem of her shirt, tucking imaginary strands of her behind her ear, “Thank you, I guess, but I was just... not in a good place.”

“Come on, Yang.” Blake chuckled, “We’re girls. Like you said, it’s true for you and it’s true for me. I... I’m just saying that I understand.”

“Thanks for that.” Yang beamed and reached for her jacket, holding it up for Blake to see, “And this.”

Before Yang could offer to call Velvet, before she could turn and make a quick exit, Blake’s voice had caught her off-guard again and Yang was frozen in place.

“You didn’t answer my question though.” Blake leaned on the counter, golden eyes going over the disarray of the little products in front of her, “From that night. Do you remember?”

Then Blake looked up at her, expecting an answer, but all Yang could do was nod and move a little bit closer. She did remember. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard enough of that question since she had returned from Patch. She just didn’t think she and Blake would ever be in a situation where she would ask Yang.

“You were about to say something,” Blake huffed, “but Neptune walked in on us and–“

Yang laughed. “What’s wrong with Neptune?”

“Nothing.” Blake said curtly.

“Neptune’s a nice guy.”

“Yeah, sure–“

“He really is.” Yang stammered.

“I get that–“

“I mean he is your boyfriend’s bes–“ Yang hadn’t meant to, but she had found herself teetering into the unknown. Yang Xiao Long loved to flirt with danger.

“How are you?” Blake raised her voice, not unkindly, but it was much louder than it usually was. The girl cleared her throat and spoke gently. “You never finished and I – I’m here if... if you wanna talk.”

Yang fought hard to keep the smile from spreading across her lips. The last few days have been incredibly taxing. Hell, the last month had been hectic and chaotic. This was a pretty good change. At least something in her life wasn’t about to explode.

And Yang does her very best not to ask Blake out again.

That wasn’t going to happen. She and Blake were never going to happen and it finally just dawned on her, standing here in Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, Blake smiling at her and the clock ticking away. This was all that they would be.

This was enough.

And Yang was okay with it.

It wasn’t as if she no longer felt her heart hammering in her chest and the yearning to be close to Blake, but what else was she supposed to do? Blake said no and feelings wouldn’t exactly go away just because you said so.

This was going to be the end of it.

Blake whispered something and ducked her head, cheeks flushing and eyes locked on to the desk bell on the counter. Yang shook her head and leaned closer. “I’m sorry, what? I didn’t hear you.”

Blake closed her eyes and sighed, “Are you free this weekend?”

Yang opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t quite find the words. It sounded as if Blake had asked her out on a date, but it was really just her asking if she had other plans this weekend. That was usually followed by an invitation to a date, but it could just be Yang’s mind playing tricks on her and Blake was just asking her a simple question.

“Saturday?” Blake took a step back and bounced on the balls of her feet, “I was thinking we could... hang out... or – or something. I don’t know.”

Hang out. Logically – and given their lack of romantic interactions – Blake was asking to hang out with her, to spend time like how she would hang out with Ren and Nora. Maybe their conversation in the boys’ room had made Blake think that they could be good friends.

“Okay, fine.” Blake pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned, “It’s a date then.”

Date.

Date with Blake.

Date with Blake on Saturday.

“I didn’t say anything.” Yang muttered, still overcome with disbelief.

“Oh, give me a break, Yang.” Blake forced herself to laugh.

“I really didn’t say anything.” Yang said aloud.

Did Blake Belladonna, the girl who turned her down, ask her out just now? Did she literally just say ‘it’s a date’ and that this wasn’t just a figment of Yang’s imagination and the breaking of her sanity? This wasn’t her hope and expectations talking, was it?

“I...” Blake looked at her for a second, sighed and stared at her shoes, trying to find a prompt in between the tiles on the floor.

“So...” Yang leaned closer, “Saturday?”

Date with Blake on Saturday.

“I...” Blake snapped her head to look at her, golden eyes wide and wild with nervousness, “yes.”

“Okay.” Yang nodded, keeping the smile from her lips, “Cool.”

There was no need for that gret dinner fiasco to happen again. She had to be cool. She was Yang Xiao Long, smooth-talker. She wasn’t flaky. She wasn’t a nervous wreck.

She was a mess.

“Yes.” Blake nodded, cheeks completely turning red, “Cool.”

And Yang thought she was adorable. Blake was calm and collected. She was never scared or nervous, not when talking to anyone, most definitely not of Yang.

So seeing her this way, so dishevelled, so jumpy, so bare... Yang found herself wanting more again.

This time will be different.

This time, Yang Xiao Long will be the nervous wreck, flaky smooth-talker. She was going to be the girl who likes wearing an oversized utility jacket that faded in color, the girl who drives a beat-up yellow hatchback and the girl who could wait.

Whatever will be, will be and Saturday, a date with Blake, will be enough.

“You’re not very good at this, are you?” Yang giggled as she scratched her cheek. She couldn’t contain her smile any longer and her head felt like it was going to explode from the giddiness she felt.

Blake shook her head and smiled shyly at Yang, “No, I’m not.”

Yang laughed, eyes locked on Blake’s and a smile just as shy, “Me neither.”

For a moment, the world was right again. It was this beautiful mass of land and sea and endless wonder and possibilities. Yang Xiao Long felt invincible as she stared into the galaxies swirling in between her and Blake.

This was enough. This was more than enough. This was a dream come true. This was real.

“Hey, Blake.” Velvet called out from behind Yang.

The girl had untied her apron and folded it over the counter, oblivious to what was happening. Yang ducked her head, allowing her unruly waves to curtain as much of her face and the smile that she couldn’t quite shake off.

“I’ll just let Ms. Delaney know I’m off.” Velvet bent forward to slide the folded apron right next to the bunched up one Louie King shoved into the corner. She didn’t stop to look at either Blake or Yang, patting Yang on the shoulder as she passed to go to Ms. Delaney’s office.

Yang still couldn’t leave the front desk, being the only employee available to watch it. She stood awkwardly, her breath catching in her throat and her cheeks beginning to ache.

Blake had retreated away from the counter, heading over to the toys and accessories. Yang tried her best not to follow Blake with her eyes, but there really was no controlling that, not when she was on a mission to find out if she could make Blake feel like a bumbling idiot, the way she felt whenever Blake was around.

And, oh, she smiled slightly when their eyes met again, hiding behind a shelf of leashes and harnesses.

“Ready to go?” Velvet called out from the hallway in the back, patting Yang’s shoulder again before she circled the counter to stand beside her friend.

Yang tuned out their short conversation, giving them a little bit of privacy. She watched as the two girls walked towards the front door; Velvet leading the way and Blake following her closely. The bell chimed and the two girls shivered in the afternoon breeze.

Blake turned to her one last time, with a small smile and another flush of her cheeks before the front door closed.

Saturday couldn’t come sooner.


	11. Put the Brakes on Your Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wine Wednesdays at Yang Xiao Long's apartment. All her friends meet Ruby.

It was two-fifty-eight in the morning of Wednesday when Yang finished typing up her apology letter to the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity, stating that Yang would shoulder all of the expenses in the repair and replacement of what she had broken last Friday night.

She had thought about paying all of it herself, writing that they address the bills to her, but she remembered that Raven had already paid for it and all Yang needed to do was send the letter to save some face.

She spent the next fifteen minutes finding an email address to send the letter to, not wanting to personally drop off the letter in that dreaded place. She had no intention of running into Cardin again and she still, technically, hadn’t called Neptune back.

Yang slipped into her bed at half-past three, relieved that she finally got to send the letter. Never mind that she was three days late. Raven hadn’t called her anyway. That must mean that her hotshot lawyer friend hadn’t pestered her about it.

She lay on her bed, staring at the stains on her ceiling. Things were getting better, she thought happily.

Blake Belladonna, the girl she’d liked for quite some time, has asked her out – even after gret dinner and the frat party brawl. There was a connection, a spark and Blake must have realized it too.

Better late than never.

She closed her eyes and let the tension of the day slip out through her fingertips, sinking deep into her sheets and into a restful sleep.

Yang’s eyes flew open and she groaned. It just dawned on her that she and Blake never really specified when and where they would be meeting on Saturday and it wasn’t as if Blake casually wrote her number down for Yang.

“I’ll just ask Velvet.” She groaned, mentally kicking herself for worrying about something so easily remedied.

Blake wasn’t a fleeting dream, she was a real human being and Yang knew that the girl liked hanging out in the new library building or she would wait for Velvet at Noola’s on Thursday afternoon. Blake was real. Yang was going to see her again and probably much sooner than Saturday.

There was nothing to worry about.

Wednesday was going to be great.

Wednesday, Yang could sleep in and... get a call around seven-twelve in the morning.

She groaned as she rolled around under her sheets, groping for her Scroll, half-wishing she could just chuck it out of the window and have it magically reappear in an hour. She stared at the display, cursing the person on the other line.

_Weiss is calling..._

She swiped the green button and mumbled into the device, “Was, ‘sup?”

“Really?” her high-pitched voice said over the line, “You’re still in bed. It’s seven in the morning on a Wednesday.”

“Everybody should stop commenting on my sleep schedule, thanks.” Yang licked her lips and scratched her nose, “Who cares about sleeping ‘til noon? At least I know how to greet people.”

Weiss clicked her tongue and briefly groaned, “Good morning, Yang. There! Are you happy?”

“Good morning, Weiss.” Yang pushed herself off the bed, her blanket pooling on her lap, “Did you want something?”

“Pyrrha wanted me to invite you to wine this evening at her apartment. Wednesday Wine.” Weiss cleared her throat, “It was unfortunate that you missed our Friday soiree and we are hoping you and a friend could make it.”

Yang repeated Weiss’ words in her head, trying to shake the sleep from her mind as she processed the invitation that she had just received. Weiss had asked her to have wine with her and Pyrrha and they were hoping she could bring a friend, and knowing Pyrrha, she meant Ruby.

But Ruby was too young to be drinking anything. Do sixteen-year-olds even drink wine? Yang hadn’t even seen Ruby drink apple juice, just water and milk.

Yang thought about what she was going to say next, but had instead asked a question that was burning deep in her soul:

“Why wasn’t the soiree on a Saturday instead?” Yang scoffed, “I figured since, you know, it’s Wednesday Wine. By any chance, did you have tea yesterday or would it be Thursday Tea? Tuesday has a better ring to it.”

“I hate you.” Weiss said dryly, “You better show up, Xiao Long.”

“Calm down. I live across the hall.” Yang heard the sharp click followed by the sound of three consecutive beeps, “Goodbye to you too, Weiss.”

Outside, Yang could hear the sound of pots and pans grinding against each other. She threw her covers off of her and got up to peek into the kitchen area. Ruby Rose, her backpack firmly on her back, had swallowed half a piece of toast and deposited the plate on the sink with the other pans.

“You okay there?” Yang called out, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Ruby looked in her direction, thumping a fist over her chest, “I’m good. Gotta go catch the bus. Sorry about the–“

“Leave it.” Yang yawned, “I’ll clean up. Go. You’ll be late.”

“Bye.” Ruby rushed towards the door, flung it open and called out before she shut the door behind her, “Love you.”

Yang chalked it up to being distracted and nervous. She hadn’t heard Ruby say she loved her in three years, not since before she stormed out of their home in Patch.

Still, it was enough to send Yang’s head reeling. She wondered what it would feel like if Ruby had actually meant what she said, that whatever trace of betrayal or hurt the little girl felt faded away. They would probably be a happy family again, just like how they used to be.

These hopes drove the sleep out of Yang Xiao Long. She was wide awake and highly aware of the burning feeling in her chest. She walked towards the nearest window overlooking the street and watched Ruby Rose, rushing to the bus stop.

When her little sister was out of her view, Yang went on to diligently wash all the dishes that Ruby had left behind, wiped down the counter and fixed herself something to eat. She did have five more hours before she has to go to Beacon for her first lecture of the day.

Wednesdays are great, but they could be quite uneventful.

All Yang did was drive to school – the old girl breaking down just once – and meet up with Ren and Nora who had invited themselves over to Weiss’ Wednesday Wine party at Pyrrha’s apartment.

It wasn’t as if Weiss had never met Ren and Nora and it wasn’t as if the princess didn’t actually like having Nora and her childlike fascination with Weiss around. Ren and Pyrrha also got along swimmingly on the rare occasion that the five of them would be found in the same room.

Yang had always been the sore thumb of the group. In fact, Yang had always been the only sore thumb.

All afternoon, she had thought of the instances when she felt left out whenever she was around Ren and Nora, the inside jokes that they only understood, the silent conversations they had. She had always chalked it up to a mutual attraction between the two of them, one that they didn’t intend to act upon any time soon, one that she had been waiting to happen for a while.

At the end of the day, Yang sat behind the steering wheel, inhaling the all-too familiar scent of her yellow hatchback. She had waved Ren and Nora a quick goodbye with the promise to see them in a few hours for Weiss’ Wednesday Wine party at Pyrrha’s apartment.

It was four-twenty-two in the afternoon.

She pulled her Scroll out and looked through her contacts, pressing the green call button when she saw Ruby’s name. She pressed the device to her ear, waiting for the other girl to pick up.

What time did high schoolers get off school these days? Was Ruby busy doing other things? Yang tried not to think of prison on the fourth ring, tried not to think of the police breaking down her door and dragging her down to the precinct.

Ruby could just be hanging out with some new friends, drinking milkshakes or stuffing her face with cheeseburgers and pizzas.

_I should have asked._

Ruby had been under her direct supervision for almost a month now and she had no idea what the girl did in between going to school in the morning and Yang returning home a little after dark. Saturdays, Ruby was already up and about when Yang would roll out of bed and Sundays too.

Ruby still wasn’t answering.

Yang tucked the Scroll between her ear and her shoulder, jamming the key into the ignition and willing the vehicle to roar to life. As soon as the engine started chugging, a soft click resounded in Yang’s ear followed by a disgruntled voice.

“Hello?”

“Ruby.” Yang felt relief wash all over her, sinking into her car’s upholstery, “Yo... Hey, what time do you get off school?”

“An hour ago.” Ruby shouted over the sound of a roaring motorcycle.

“Right.” Yang gripped the steering wheel, “Where are you? I hear motorcycles.”

“I’m on my way back to the apartment.”

_Shit._

“Did you want to pick me up from school?” Ruby teased, a hint of laughter hung at the edge of the sentence, “Yang, I’m old enough to go around town by myself. Besides, you had no problem with this the entire week that I’ve been here. What gives?”

I’m worried about you.

“I was just checking in.” Yang pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, “You know, making sure you haven’t run away like a good little girl.”

Yang could hear the sound of keys jingle, “You sound like a creep. Listen, I’m right outside the apartment. No need to worry, okay?”

Yang did feel a little bit relieved, hearing the soft, creepy voice of Mr. Dormitorio in the background, inviting Ruby to tend to his succulents. The last threats she had gotten were finally catching up to her and it was making her a little bit paranoid.

“Hey,” Yang drawled as she straightened up in her seat, “I’m having friends over tonight. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Oh.” Ruby’s voice was barely a whisper and Yang almost felt the pain she must have felt at the misunderstanding.

“You should join us.” Yang quickly added.

There was no way in hell she could keep Ruby Rose a secret, not just to her neighbour, but to her friends. Vale was slowly becoming her home and there were no secrets in homes. Well, there would be, but definitely not a living, breathing 16-year-old girl.

“Or I could just stay in my–“

“Come on.” Yang laughed into the receiver, “It’ll be fun. My friends are nice. You’ll love them.”

“I don’t know.” Ruby’s breathing was erratic as her feet fell heavy on the stairs. Apparently, Yang wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the elevator.

“Just an hour.” Yang conceded, “Then we can say you have homework. Please, they’re really nice people. Except Weiss, but that’s another story.”

Ruby was breathing deeply, asking for Yang to give her a moment, “Fine.”

Yang released the breath she didn’t know she was holding, relieved either by Ruby’s decision or the sound of the keys jingling and a door opening. It could be both.

“They’re not your party friends, are they?” Ruby continued.

“No, they’re school friends.” Yang supplied, turning the car on, “And neighbours. Remember the girl who came over with red hair?”

“Yeah,” Ruby sounded distant, as if she were recalling who Yang meant, “I forgot her name.”

“Pyrrha.” Yang huffed out as the car engine died, “Anyway, I’m on my way home, just gonna go to the store to grab some things. Want anything?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Ruby sighed, but quickly added, “Oh, maybe an almond tart, you know, for dessert.”

“Okay. Bye. Lock the door.” Yang hung up and resumed trying to get her “old girl” to start.

Yang stopped by the supermarket near her apartment, carrying two paper bags and a small disposable food container with three almond tarts that Ruby wanted. She deposited her groceries in the backseat, mentally noting that she should label the almond tarts in case Nora might try to eat them all when she would arrive.

The ride back to her apartment went smoothly. The old yellow hatchback had only broken down once and Yang was grateful it started again soon after. The entire trip, she thought about making roast chicken for her friends and maybe some lasagne too. She was co-host after all and it was high time she started being a gracious visitor to Pyrrha’s apartment.

Ruby was kind enough to help her when she arrived into apartment 407, sweeping the floor and cleaning the bathroom while Yang went about making dinner, marinating the chicken, preparing the gravy and boiling the lasagne strips.

When all the cleaning was done, Ruby had helped Yang with the food, invited by the delightful smells coming from the kitchen. Yang had directed Ruby to the baby potatoes, asking her little sister to cook them for fifteen minutes. Ruby reluctantly agreed, grabbing the bowl of peeled potatoes to the cooking pot with the boiling water, right next to the one with the lasagne strips.

Halfway through their food preparations, there was a rhythmic knock to the door followed by the demanding voice of Nora. Yang and Ruby stared at each other for a moment, taking in the situation and assessing the messy kitchen. Ruby had offered to open the door, but Yang felt the panic rise in her chest and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders.

“I think it’s best if they see me first.” Yang laughed nervously, wiping her hands on a clean towel.

“You haven’t told them about me, have you?” Ruby tried to keep her voice even, but Yang could hear the sound of betrayal echoing in each syllable, “And what if I burn the food?”

“I’ll introduce you now.” Yang shrugged and smiled as she passed Ruby, “I’ll be back in a minute. Everything looks fine. I can run back if I smell something burning.”

“Oh, that smells so good!” Nora cried out behind the door as Yang crossed the dining area, then the living room to the front door, “You better let us in now, Yang Xiao Long!”

“Hi.” Yang breathed out, a wide smile on her face.

Ren and Nora were standing in the hallway, grins on their faces and paper bags tucked under their arms. Yang motioned for them to come inside and asked them to follow her into the kitchen.

“I’ve got whiskey.” Nora pulled the bottle out of her paper bag and presented it to Yang, “It’s been so long since we ac–“

Yang proceeded to the stove, checking to see if anything had been burnt or overcooked in the few seconds that she had been away. It wasn’t that she doubted Ruby, it was just a habit. Besides, she was going to turn the fire down so she and everyone could go about the introduction that Yang had been putting off for a very long time.

“Hello.” Ren greeted, carefully setting his paper bag on the dining table.

“Hi.” Ruby said, taking a subtle step back, closer to Yang.

“Well, a lot’s happened.” Yang forced herself to laugh as she checked to see if the baby potatoes and the lasagne are ready, “First off, there will be explanations and they are not good ones. But, guys, this is my little sister, Ruby.”

Nora moved closer to Ruby, leaning towards the young girl as she placed the bottle of whiskey right next to the paper bag Ren had placed earlier. Ruby flinched and moved away a little bit, but she kept her silver eyes steady on Nora as the older girl looked her over.

“She’s my half-sister, Nora.” Yang shook her head and went to grab the lasagne pot to strain it, “She looks nothing like me, I know.”

Nora hummed in agreement, kindly stepping away from Ruby, “You have the same cheekbones and forehead.”

Yang laughed as Ruby began to feel her face and pressed her cheekbones and forehead. Her little sister was staring at her as both their faces twisted in confusion.

“Stop looking so worried.” Yang laughed as she checked the baby potatoes, “It’s not so bad to look as pretty as me, Ruby.”

“You look like a brick.” Ruby muttered.

Ren quickly turned away and laughed into his shoulder. Nora, on the other hand, guffawed and wrapped an arm around Ruby’s shoulders, pulling the girl close to her.

“I like you.” Nora grinned at her and sang the words, “I’m Nora. That’s Ren. He looks boring and stiff, but he’s secretly a hugger.”

“And a better cook.” Yang groaned, “Ren, can you help us please?”

“What for?” Ren smiled, waving to Ruby before he looked over Yang’s shoulder, “You’re doing a pretty good job on your own.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just stand there and watch me slave away.” Yang groaned again, “Can you please grab the milk in the fridge and help me with the lasagna. Ruby’s got the potatoes handled.”

“Your kitchen’s not big enough for the four of us.” Nora whirled around, Ruby still stuck to her side, “Why don’t your sister and I go open the whiskey in the living room?”

Yang dropped her spoon into the cooking pot with the baby potatoes and narrowed her eyes towards Nora, “No, no, you are not making my sister drink. She’s too young for your sins. And she’s on potato duty.”

“Ever so dramatic.” Nora rolled her eyes and finally let Ruby go, “How about I wash the dishes and set the table as you all go?”

Ruby scurried past Nora, standing very close to Yang as Nora crossed the kitchen to grab some plates that Yang kept in the cupboard above the kitchen counter. Ren moved towards the opposite direction, pulling the refrigerator door open and hummed.

“I see you finally have some food in your fridge.” He pulls the milk carton out and flips it over in his hands, “And it’s not expired.”

“Shut up and make the damn sauce already.” Yang blushed.

The four of them worked in near silence, often broken by Nora who had questions about Ruby or the food they were making. Yang had calmly answered all of the questions directed at her, briefly telling them what had happened during their father’s funeral and Ozpin’s search for the rest of Ruby’s maternal family.

Ren and Nora’s faces went blank when Yang had casually mentioned that Ruby was only temporarily staying with her. The two exchanged a quick, icy glance before they settled on Ruby. The little girl just pulled herself away from them and wiped down the kitchen counter.

Yang turned to the dining table and admired their work and realized that Nora had actually outdone herself with the table setting. She bit her tongue and thought that maybe Pyrrha and Weiss could just come over and they could all bond.

That would make for a better apology than coming to Pyrrha’s apartment with lasagne.

“I’m gonna go see if Pyrrha’s home.” Yang threw her thumb over her shoulder, waiting for her three companions to nod.

Just as Yang opened her front door, Weiss had just knocked on Room 409’s door, a bottle of white wine tucked under an arm. The shorter girl turned to look at her, looking at her up and down and turned back to the door as Pyrrha opened with a warm smile.

“Oh,” Pyrrha sighed at the sight of Yang and Weiss, “you two are a little early. I just got in.”

“I can help you with dinner preparations.” Weiss exclaimed as she handed Pyrrha the wine bottle.

“Well, I already made dinner.” Yang stood beside Weiss and grinned at the two of them, “I was thinking I’d bring the food with me, but it’s much easier to bring two girls and a bottle of wine to my apartment.”

“Eww.” Weiss muttered.

“I’m being a good host.” Yang glared at her until she finally softened her features, “And I’m trying to express how sorry I am for missing your soiree.”

“Stop mocking me.” Weiss scoffed.

“Yang.” Pyrrha groaned, “Weiss, I think it’ll be great to spend Wednesday with Yang at her apartment, don’t you think so too?”

Weiss grimaced and stared at her shoes.

“And with my friends.” Yang scratched the back of her neck, “Ren and Nora are with me. They brought some whiskey.”

Weiss snapped her eyes to Yang’s, puffing her chest out and taking a step towards her, “Whiskey? So, you have Whiskey Wednesday, too, and you have the gall to mock wine?”

Yang stared at her for a moment, a little afraid of her sudden ferocity, but quickly laughed that Weiss was still beating herself up about the alliterations.

“I suppose Wednesday could be Whiskey and Wine night.” Weiss cleared her throat and glanced over at Pyrrha who was smiling at the two of them, “I’m not drinking whiskey though. It doesn’t sit well with me.”

“You and me both.” Yang gently took the wine bottle from Pyrrha and pointed towards her door, “Whiskey melts my butt. I’d like to share your wine. I’ve got chicken, baby po-tates and lasagne.”

“I’ll just go grab my keys.” Pyrrha slipped back into her apartment.

Yang and Weiss refused to meet each others’ eyes as they waited in the hallway, Yang constantly peeking into her slightly ajar door to check into what Ruby and her friends were doing inside.

“I’m guessing everyone else is in there?” Weiss queried, staring at her well-manicured nails. “Yeah.” Yang nodded vigorously, “Ren, Nora and Ruby.”

“I take it Ruby’s your new girlfriend.” Weiss said nonchalantly, straightening her skirt as Yang silently gagged, “Pyrrha mentioned she saw a young girl in your apartment last week. I didn’t know you had a little sister kink, Xiao Long.”

Yang wasn’t sure if all color had drained from her face or if all the blood rushed to her head, “Dude, that is gross. Eww. Weiss, what the fuck? I swear – I want to kick you in the head. I won’t miss.”

“What?” Weiss glared at her, “What did I do this time?”

“You’re talking about my sister, you asshat!” Yang screeched, “Holy shit, you don’t even know what you’re talking about. Gross. Little sister kink? Says you, you sick perv!”

“Hey, stop pinning this on me!” Weiss shouted.

Pyrrha opened her door with a worried look on her face, quickly placing a placating hand on both of the girls in the hallway, reminding them to keep it down before the landlord, Mr. Dormitorio, would force them all down to the garden.

The three of them silently and heatedly retreated into Yang’s apartment, Ren, Nora and Ruby staring at them as Weiss quickly rounded on Yang when Pyrrha shut the door close.

“I am not a pervert!” Weiss exclaimed, “It’s not my fault I’m not in the loop. You and your stupid secrets.”

“Weiss, please.” Pyrrha placed both her hands on Weiss’ shoulders, “We’re having dinner and Yang is going to explain herself. Aren’t you, Yang?”

“If Weiss promises to shut the hell up.” Yang walked over to the kitchen and gently placed the wine bottle on the kitchen counter.

Weiss scowled at her for a moment, then she scanned the room to see the other people inside. Her cheeks quickly turned pink as she ducked her head and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m sorry for causing a scene.”

“And?” Pyrrha drawled, leaning forward to coax more from Weiss.

“And I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to make dinner.” Weiss sighed, “And that you want to start being honest with the people who care about you.”

Nora’s jaw dropped. Yang felt as if her eyes were about to fall out of her head and her jaw about to unhinge itself from her skull. Ren and Ruby were seated around the dining table, eyes darting between all of them. Pyrrha just smiled and pushed Weiss closer to the table.

Ren and Nora grabbed a few extra chairs from the room, mismatched, but they served the purpose. All six of them were cramped around the dining table, passing dishes around. Weiss was the only one sipping wine as she ate. Nora was a whole lot more hungry than thirsty for her whiskey.

The dinner began with Yang telling Weiss and Pyrrha what she told Ren and Nora, although they were a little bit less cold about the decision to have Ruby spend the last of her minor years with her maternal family.

“How are you adjusting, Ruby?” Pyrrha smiled at the little girl who almost choked at the question, “Yang is taking good care of you, right?”

“I’m adjusting fine.” Ruby swallowed her food and stared at her plate for a moment, “It’s only been about a month. Yang’s adjusting too.”

Yang felt a smile tug at her lips, “I’m doing my best.”

“I talked to Yang the other day.” Pyrrha said in between bites, “You can come over to the apartment across the hall if you ever feel like it. I can watch you while Yang’s away, if you want.”

Ruby groaned as her cheeks turned red, “I’m fine. I can take care of myself. I’m old enough. I can make my own decisions.”

Yang laughed, “Yes, you are, but you don’t have full autonomy to enact said decisions. Legally, speaking. That still kinda falls on me.”

Everyone at the table shot Yang a surprised look.

“I’ve been looking into child care and special situations or something.” Yang shrugged, shovelling a forkful of lasagne into her mouth.

“Why?” Ruby asked.

Yang grinned at her little sister, “Because somebody had called Ozpin and he threatened to call the cops on me.”

Ruby blanched. Pyrrha had dropped her fork and the rest of them resumed their meals in silence.

“He didn’t.” Yang quickly added, trying to lighten the atmosphere, “He didn’t call the cops. You guys, I made dinner. Still here.”

Ruby shrank in her seat. The little girl sat staring at her plate and moved the lasagne pieces around on her plate.

“Rubes, it’s fine.” Yang reassured her, “Calling Ozpin was the best option that you had at the time and I’m proud that you made that decision. You can call him anytime you want too. It’s for your safety anyway, okay?”

Then there was silence followed by intermittent scratches of cutlery against the plates. None of them had dared look at Yang or Ruby. In fact, none of them knew what to do.

Yang could feel the tension in the air. She wasn’t sure if Ruby still felt upset about Yang calling her out and the discomfort of meeting strangers for the first time. Ruby had always had a difficult time making new friends. It would seem that that hasn’t changed in the three years that Yang had been away.

“So,” Weiss, apparently, had no qualms about dancing on the edge, “why the secrecy?” “What?” Ruby lifted her head and looked at Weiss.

“I didn’t mean you,” Weiss laughed nervously, “but if you know, then I’d like to hear it. Why did Yang keep you – her half-sister – a secret? The only personal thing she’s ever said was that her mother paid for her tuition. I’m guessing she meant birth mother and not step-mother because, you know... Umm... yeah.”

Weiss bristled and then sank into her chair, cheeks tinged red.

“Well...” Ruby began, but she quickly shut her mouth.

“Yang doesn’t like talking about herself.” Pyrrha said matter-of-factly.

“But she does talk a lot.” Nora muttered and Ren and Weiss giggled into their plates.

“What I’m saying is,” Pyrrha cleared her throat, “Yang can be secretive without her knowing and we have to respect her decision of whether she should tell us something about herself or not. We don’t force her to answer and when she does say something, we respond accordingly.”

“Damn, son.” Nora murmured.

Yang sighed and returned to her plate. She hated being analyzed like a specimen under a microscope. She felt so naked, so vulnerable, so fragile. Yang Xiao Long wasn’t a crybaby. She was independent, capable, headstrong and she was resilient.

That afternoon in Patch would never happen again.

But she owed them the truth because last Friday night and Saturday morning should never happen again as well. She wasn’t going to disappear, leave her sister alone and make her friends worry about her. She wasn’t going to ghost them, to show up days later with bruises on her face and a criminal record looming over her head.

What was family for? The only family she had left was right here, around the table.

Yang bit her tongue and felt the heat rushing to her eyes. Summer Rose’s motto was coming back, doing backflips in the back of her head, tipping sideways on the tip of her tongue.

Vagabonds by day, shelters by night. Something in between. Something everywhere?

“She’s not answering.” Weiss whispered to Pyrrha.

All hope of rediscovering the Rose family motto had slipped away.

Yang grimaced at Weiss, sighed and opened her heart out a little bit. She told them about Taiyang, that she and him fought three years ago, that they argued about something and Yang felt like she couldn’t stay home anymore. She cut to how Taiyang had met Summer Rose one morning to buy light bulbs at the convenience store. Summer had been passing through and the connection was instantaneous. Before long, Yang had a little sister and they tied the knot four months before Yang’s fifth birthday.

Everyone was silent. Everyone looked at her with so much pity that it made Yang sick. Even Weiss, who didn’t really care if she was a little too blunt with Yang.

For the first time, Yang talked about her parents’ divorce. Taiyang and Raven were college sweethearts who tried so hard to rekindle their romance into adulthood, but their solution became the problem. Finally, Raven left.

Yang was nervous and a little thrilled. She followed up their divorce with brief memories of baby Ruby and Summer Rose. Then it was about putting too much dough for the bake sale in middle school. Everything was just spilling out onto the table and nobody dared stop her.

But Yang reassured them that this was fine, in fact, she was feeling better than she had been since she came home from Patch. Eventually, Nora butt in with a joke or two. That certainly lightened the mood and prompted everyone else to participate. After a while, everyone had been contributing their own stories and Yang finally felt at peace.

When the table was cleared and they had all settled into the living room, sprawled on the couch, sitting on the arm rests and on the floor, wine glasses and whiskey shots in front of them. Ruby was on the floor, listening to one of Nora’s stories, sipping the apple juice Yang had given her, much to Weiss’ dismay.

“Ren bumped into Jaune earlier.” Nora teased Pyrrha as Yang sat herself down next to Ruby.

Pyrrha immediately blushed. Weiss and Yang stuck their tongues out and shook their heads at the same time.

“You didn’t say we were having a get-together, did you?” Yang smacked Ren’s knee.

“No.” Ren cried, “I knew this was an intimate get-together. I would never invite him over to your apartment.”

“Because he might try to break Pyrrha’s door?” Weiss shrugged and downed her wine glass, “That boy needs to learn boundaries.”

“He forced Yang to take him to the party last week.” Nora poured herself some whiskey, “He said he was looking for his new dream girl.”

“I’m not even going to ask who that is this time.” Yang shrugged.

“But I’ve seen him around with the Lambda Fraternity boys a lot.” Pyrrha added, “He has been spending a lot of time with Sun and Neptune.”

Sun.

Of course.

How could I have forgotten?

“Something’s up with those boys.” Weiss announced bitterly, her grip tightening around her glass of wine, “The Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity is big and illustrious with older brothers in really high places.”

“Is your dad a Lambda member?” Yang gaped at Weiss.

“No.” Weiss shrugged, “But my father has made dealings with a few members who became oil tycoons and CEOs of cargo companies. I’ve heard mention that the Beacon University chapter are a bunch of delinquents, especially their current chancellor.”

“Chancellor?”

“You know, president?” Weiss sipped her wine and moved to pour herself another glass, “He’s the guy who keeps the Lambda brothers in Beacon in line and after what Pyrrha said about that party last Friday, he’s not doing a very good job.”

Yang shot a glance at Ruby who was intently staring at Nora’s Scroll. She hadn’t exactly told her little sister about the things that happened last Friday night, about how she exchanged blows with a brute named Cardin and how she almost jumped off a second-story balcony.

When Yang looked at Pyrrha and Weiss, the two of them took a brief look at Ruby themselves and nodded to Yang, a silent acknowledgement of Yang’s desire to keep that a secret.

“The president seems like a nice guy.” Yang shrugged, running a hand through her mass of hair, “He diffused the fight that broke out that night.”

Weiss winces at the sound of his name, her face contorting to disgust and disbelief the longer Yang spoke about him.

“Adam Taurus?” Weiss almost spat the name out, “His dad’s a douche and so is he.”

“I don’t know about his dad, but he seems like a pretty well-rounded, reasonable guy.” Yang laughed, thinking back to how Adam Taurus had let her leave the house without any trouble.

“You don’t understand, Yang.” Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, “The Tauruses are bad news. Adam is the worst of them. You know, the dad’s worst considering how he practically buried an assault charge against his son.”

“What?” Ren leaned forward, setting his empty glass on the table, “Do you mean, Blake?”

Yang’s jaw dropped. Nora put her Scroll away and joined in the conversation. Weiss furrowed her brows and shrugged.

“ You mean Belladonna?” Weiss sighed, “I don’t know. All I know is Adam Taurus beat up his ex-girlfriend to a pulp. She was in pretty bad shape after he was done with her. I heard the girl was rushed to a hospital on a Friday night and woke up Tuesday morning.”

Yang gripped her empty glass tight, her fingers digging into her leg as she leaned closer to listen. She felt bile rising to her throat. She felt the urge to punch anything in the face, felt the rush and thrill of the fight and the implosion of powerlessness.

“When did this happen?” Yang squeaked.

“Rumors.” Nora murmured.

“Look,” Weiss cut them off, “all I know is that Adam is bad news. It would be best if you kept your distance from the Lambda fraternity. Stay away from any single one of them and everything will be okay.”

Yang kept her mouth shut and nodded. She really had no intention or desire to deal with any of the Lambda brothers again anyway. She did think about thanking Adam Taurus personally, but Weiss’ story had changed her mind.

In half an hour, they had all emptied their glasses and drank all the liquor. Ren and Nora were ready to call it a night, until Pyrrha offered to bring over two bottles of wine from her apartment. Ren and Weiss were quick to walk Pyrrha back to her apartment and Nora wrapped an arm around Ruby’s shoulder.

“Nora,” Yang shook her head, “you’re gonna break my sister’s bones if you keep doing that.” “I’m not weak, Yang.” Ruby groaned.

“Well, I’m glad you and Nora are hitting it off really well.” Yang laughed, “You girls want more apple juice?”

“Water.” Nora groaned as she fell back onto the couch, “I think we all need water before we drink more wine.”

“Weak.” Yang wobbled to the kitchen and heard Nora’s muffled groan.

“Do you guys not have homework?” Ruby said aloud, trudging after Yang.

“I know!” Nora cried out as she jumped off of Yang’s couch, “Let’s all play poker.”

“No.” Ren slipped back into the room, Weiss and Pyrrha following close with two bottles of wine and a box of crackers.

“Ren said you have cheese in your refrigerator.” Weiss handed Yang the box of crackers and went straight to the refrigerator. Yang saw her pause for a minute before she stuck her head in to reach for the cheese in the back, behind two cartons of milk.

“I’ve never played that game before.” Ruby said dejectedly, “I’ve only ever seen it on TV.”

“Lucky day, baby Xiao Long.” Nora lightly poked Ruby on the nose and giggled, “I’m going to teach you the basics, how to bluff like a pro and figure out who of these losers are bluffing.”

“Don’t listen to her.” Yang rolled her eyes as she set the box of crackers on the dining table, “Nora’s not very good at poker. And we’re not playing that. How about Haunted House of Treachery instead?”

“And have you stare at me like I’m the killer for thirty minutes?” Nora stuck her tongue out and smirked, “You’re just jealous because I know when you’re lying and I’m going to clean out your bank account.”

“No, you don’t.” Ren chuckled, walking to the kitchen to help Weiss with the snacks.

“Yang’s not very good at lying.” Pyrrha laughed, uncorking the wine bottle and pouring a glass for herself, “And if we’re talking about real money here, Weiss is going to clean the floor with all of our broke butts.”

“I would never!” Weiss pressed a hand to her chest and held a glass out for Pyrrha to fill, “At least not you, Pyrrha. I can bankrupt everyone else.”

“Fat chance, Schnee.” Nora laughed as she stood to grab a handful of crackers from Ren, “You’re a cheater. You don’t have a tell and you’re stone cold and filthy stinkin’ rich.”

“Why can’t we just play Go Fish?” Pyrrha said diplomatically, grabbing a glass for Ren, Nora and Yang. “No one would get bankrupt, no one would be suspected of cheating and Yang wouldn’t embarrass herself for trying to lie.”

“I am not a bad liar!” Yang cried out, angrily accepting the glass Pyrrha poured for her.

“Cut off your hands and we’ll believe you.” Nora stuffed her face with crackers and slipped back into the living room.

They all followed and sat themselves down around the coffee table, sipping wine and apple juice and playing a friendly game of Go Fish. No one could really say no to Pyrrha and at least Ruby knew how to play that game.

At half-past ten, everyone had filed out of Yang’s apartment with tinged cheeks and heart smiles. All was forgiven and Weiss seemed to have warmed up to Yang a little bit. Ren and Nora offered to drive Weiss home and Pyrrha gave Ruby and Yang a warm hug before she left for her own bed.

Ruby had a good time, she said to Yang as they finished cleaning up the living room. Yang was glad she had fun, proud that her little sister had planted herself in Yang’s friend -group. They joked about Ruby and Nora being the best of friends and Yang saw that Ruby drank a little bit of wine that Weiss had given her.

“What?” Ruby whined, “Weiss said she was allowed to drink some wine when she was twelve. I’m sixteen! I’m turning seventeen next month.”

Yang just chuckled and mussed up her hair, lightly pushing her little sister to her room so she could get some sleep.

Yang wished she could get herself some sleep as she crawled into bed, relieved of the night’s events. She lay there, staring at the stains on her ceiling. She thought things were getting better, thought tonight would be wipe away the feeling of nausea from her.

Yang forced her eyes shut and tried to ignore the tension in her body. It just dawned on her that Blake had a boyfriend. Or not-boyfriend. She didn’t want to bring this coming Saturday to anyone. What would they think?

Yang sighed.

Maybe Blake was a fleeting dream. Maybe Yang was asking too much, reading too much or hoping too much. Maybe Blake was just looking for a friend. Maybe date was a word Blake used with her friends.

Maybe Yang was setting herself up to fail.

Whatever she and Blake were going to be, she would be okay with that. She had never asked for anything before, just to gret dinner. The answer was clear then. No. So, this time wouldn’t be any different.


	12. Faked it Every Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake regrets asking Yang on a date.

Blake sat staring at her steering wheel, trying to keep her breathing even and the pounding in her head to stop. She felt sick. She felt like crying.

How she got herself into this mess, she had no idea. She had to get herself out somehow. Today, ideally. She had to walk through Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, greet Ms. Delaney and ask to see Yang. Ms. Delaney would be surprised and Velvet would be walking out to meet her. She would ask Velvet to wait a while, say that she had to talk to Yang.

Then Yang would walk out to meet her, wiping her hands on her apron and a nervous lopsided smile that was starting to grow on Blake.

Then Blake would have to break her heart all over again.

I didn’t mean to ask you out. I just wanted to give you your jacket back. Sorry.

Blake groaned. She threw her head back and stared at her watch. It was seven minutes after four. Twenty-three minutes would be enough time to talk to Yang, right? Walking from her car to the front door, waiting for Ms. Lulu and then talking to Velvet and waiting for Yang would probably kill about five minutes. Actually talking to the girl would just take ten – that would leave eight minutes.

Eight minutes of looking at a girl whose heart got ripped out wasn’t too bad.

Blake stared at her watch for the nth time that afternoon and waited for the minutes to tick by. Finally, she decided to turn her radio on and was welcomed to the opening lyrics of a psychoanalytic song from two decades ago, the singer whining about his distaste for swimming towards something he was looking for.

She heaved a sigh and stared up at the clouds gathering overhead. The rainy season was about to begin and some meteorologists have said that a couple of storms would pass through soon enough. Blake mentally noted to store umbrellas in the backseat and maybe go on a shopping spree to make herself feel better. Because walking into Noola’s was going to put a hamper on her mood and only post-purchase depression could combat the guilt she would feel.

She gripped the steering wheel one last time before she shut the engine, pushed her door open and collided into a group of men.

“Hey, I knew it was you.”

Blake looked up and stared into the bright blue eyes of Sun Wukong, “What are you guys doing here?”

She pulled herself out of Sun’s grip, straightening her cardigan and tucking her hair back into place. She nodded to Sun who grinned at her and waved, glanced towards Neptune who quickly averted his gaze and grimaced at their new friend – the annoying boy Yang had brought to the party last Friday.

“Hi.” The annoying boy said as he sidestepped Sun to extend his hand to Blake, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Right.” Blake groaned, “We have.”

He laughed and shook his head, his mop of blond hair vibrating as he did so, “I think I would remember meeting some as exquisite as you.”

“Gross.” Blake was glad he wasn’t wearing a month’s supply of hair gel, but she didn’t know what to feel about the lack of it.

“Dude, back off.” Neptune sounded annoyed and ready to hit someone, “That’s Sun’s girlfriend. ”

“Oh,” he said, carefully backing away from Sun with an exaggerated look on his face, “my bad, bro.”

“Seriously,” Blake huffed, pulling her cardigan tighter, “what are you guys doing here? You’ve never been around this area before.”

“So untrue.” Sun laughed.

“You don’t own this street.” Neptune muttered. Poorly. Blake felt as if he had intended to be heard.

“The boys and I are here for initiation.” Jaune said complacently, puffing out his chest and winking at her, “We have to go around looking for sponsors from small establishments for the next Chi Rho Delta Lambda Fraternity outreach project.”

“Initiation?” Blake laughed incredulously, but the humor drained from her veins when saw the boy quirk an eyebrow, “Don’t tell me you’re really planning to join.”

“Hey,” he held his hands up in defense, “I initially didn’t want to, but last week was pretty cool – up until Yang caused a ruckus.”

“That wasn’t her fault, Jaune.” Neptune rounded on him and stared him down.

Sun joined Neptune and glared at Jaune too, “Yeah, Dove was being a dick and well... she’s Yang. She’ll break your fucking nose and you better count yourself lucky. That’s just who she is.”

Sun laughed and Blake could feel the anger rising to her cheeks. She bit her lip and checked her watch again. Four-twelve. She had time.

“Sun?” Blake placed a hand over Sun’s bicep, “Can we talk for a minute? Alone?” “Yeah, sure.” Sun nodded as he placed a hand over the small of her back.

The two of them walked a few steps away from the other guys. This Jaune boy suddenly wolf-whistled as he leaned against the hood of her black sedan. She felt the sudden urge to run back and tell him off, to tell him not to touch anything, but when her eyes caught sight of Neptune scowling at her, she turned away and allowed Sun to lead her in front of a small tattoo shop.

“I don’t like that guy.” Blake cast a sideways glance at Jaune, “I think he’s bad news.”

“Oh, come on, Blake.” Sun elbowed her gently, but he was still strong enough to set her a step back, “Sorry. Jaune’s a cool guy. You should really get to know him.”

“No, thanks.” Blake eyed the two boys again, watching as Jaune fiddled with her side view mirror.

She caught sight of Neptune again, glaring at her from the corner of his eyes. He didn’t mind that the two of them had locked eyes for a moment, but he was the first to turn away as he pulled his Scroll out of his pocket and took another step away from her car.

“Neptune really doesn’t like me.” Blake murmured, moving closer towards Sun.

Sun turned to look at Neptune before he shook his head and smiled at Blake, “Nep’s just like that. He’s a pretty nice guy.”

Sun pulled his head away from Blake and raised both his hands in front of Blake as if to ask if she had anything else to talk about with him. The three boys may truly be on official Lambda business and Blake felt like another monkey wrench in the works.

Then she remembered what she came here to do. She checked her watch again and thought that Velvet could wait while she talked to Yang. But first, she had to talk to Sun about her.

“Don’t talk about Yang like that.” She practically growled at him.

“Like what?” Sun laughed. He honest to goodness laughed, shrugged and laughed some more. “Like she could kill dudes with her looks, her hair, that body and her fists? Blake, what Jaune said – that was true! The Lambda house balcony was completely wrecked. Don’t even get me started on Cardin’s trip to the hospital after Yang Xiao Long finished with him. Total badass, that woman. No wonder Nep’s got it bad for her.”

Blake bit her tongue and furrowed her brows. She did not just hear Sun talk about Yang’s body that way.

She pulled wrapped her cardigan tighter around her waist and folded her arms over her chest, suddenly too self-conscious about herself.

“Now that I think about it,” Sun pouted as he thought, “maybe that’s why Nep’s a little – I don’t know – iffy about you?”

_Iffy?_

“Iffy?” Blake said aloud, “What are you talking about?”

Sun moves closer to Blake and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close so he could whisper, “Everyone knows Neptune likes Yang. I mean everyone. A part of the reason why the brothers kinda don’t like Yang is because she agreed to go on a date with Neptune and she just totally dumps him.”

“What?” Blake pulled herself away from Sun’s grasp and stared at him in disgust.

“I know, right?” Sun shook his head and scrunches up his face, “What girl says yes on a date and then changes her mind halfway through? Come on. You already said yes.”

“Sun.” Blake wiped the sweat from her hands.

“And then word got around that she asked you on a date.” Sun moves closer again, completely unaware of Blake’s current predicament, “Nep was upset, of course, because Yang never once mentioned that she liked girls. She’s nice and all, but that still confuses me why she even agreed to go out with Neptune in the first place.”

“She’s probably bisexual.” Blake snapped at him, pushing him away with as little gentleness as she could muster.

“Yeah, but she should have told Neptune that when she agreed to go on a date with him.”

“She doesn’t owe him anything! ” Blake could no longer keep her voice from rising, “She can go on dates with whoever the fuck she wants.”

“Okay.” Sun looked over his shoulder as he firmly held Blake’s shoulders, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you two were friends now.”

“Oh, so you’ll stop talking about her like that because she and I are friends?” Blake really couldn’t keep her voice down as she jabbed a finger at his chest and hurt herself in the process.

“I didn’t say that!” Sun cried out as he rubbed at the spot she had poked.

“Why does everything have to be so... so – conditional for you?” Blake continued, but forced herself to keep her voice down. Jaune and Neptune had moved closer, prepared to diffuse the situation.

Blake glared at Jaune who kept looking around at the empty street, conscious of anybody hearing them, “Because she’s nice to you, then it means she wants you.”

She turned her attention to Neptune who glared at her with equal fury in his eyes, “Because she said yes to you once , then it means it’s always going to be a yes.”

She took a step closer to Sun and jabbed another finger into his chest, “Because she punched a guy in the nose – who cares if he’d been harassing her – then it means she’s violent through and through.”

“Trouble in paradise.” Jaune mumbled to Neptune who smacked him on the shoulder in response.

“Okay, guys, just can it! ” Sun waved the boys away, silently asking them to give him and Blake some space.

Blake was furious. She was seething. She was livid. She wanted to poke her eyes out with a brick. She huffed and puffed as Neptune and Jaune did as Sun had asked. The two boys leaned against her car and stared at them in silent consternation.

Sun wrapped her in a side hug and moved a few steps further away, “I’m sorry, Blake.” “Yeah right.” She snorted, feeling her tears pooling at the corner of her eyes.

“I mean it. I...” Sun sighed as he pulled his arm away from her, standing before her with his shoulders slumped and his head down.

Blake clenched her fists and felt her nails digging into her palms, “Really?”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Blake grumbled again, refusing to meet Sun’s gaze.

“But she is really hot.” Sun giggled.

“Yes, but stop.” Blake sighed, “And you better tell Neptune to get over it and to stop looking at me like I ran over his dog. I didn’t force Yang to ask me out. Dust, we barely even talked to each other and I was just as surprised as everyone else when she asked.”

Sun chuckled, “ Gret dinner .”

“I didn’t even think she liked me all that much.” Blake sighed, thinking back to those mornings she shared with Yang last year.

Yang was busy doodling on her notebook or reading the book. Blake had thought that the other girl wished she was seated elsewhere, far from her, but there was no mistaking that morning that Yang had sat herself beside Blake despite the several other vacant seats in the room.

That was the same morning Yang had asked her about herself.

Perhaps she should have seen it coming, but Blake had her own battles during that time. She even had her own secrets under her sleeves. She had no time to think about the curve of her smile or the softness of her voice or the quirkiness of her words.

“I didn’t think you cared.” Sun whispered.

“Yeah, really.” Sun said defensively, “Honest. You know, looking back, what I said was pretty gross and it isn’t fair for Yang.”

The two of them stared at each other. Sun might be wrong most of the time, he might be insensitive and brutish and – for lack of a better word – a Neanderthal sometimes, but when he was right, he was definitely right. And he didn’t even need to say it. He didn’t even have to know.

“Things aren’t better.” Blake bit her tongue and stared into Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, “They’re never gonna get better. This is hard. I’m losing my mind. I shouldn’t have asked her out.”

Sun grabbed her by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, his blue eyes piercing and a smile spread across his face, “You asked her out? You asked Yang out?”

Blake slapped both of her hands over his mouth, glancing over at Neptune to make sure he hadn’t heard anything she had said, “You better keep your voice down or else your best friend’s going to run me over with my own car.”

“But you asked Yang Xiao Long out?” Sun whispered, his eyes bulging as he ducked to be eye level with her.

Blake sighed, “It was an accident. I shouldn’t have.”

“You are definitely confusing me.” Sun threw his head back and groaned.

“I was nervous, okay?” Blake cupped his face and pulled him closer to her, “I am going crazy. I have to tell her that it was a mistake. I have to cancel. I have to march into where she works and break it to her gently.”

Blake whirled around to go back to her car, but Sun grabbed her by the scruff of her cardigan and pulled her back to him with a frown. Blake had no energy to fight back, nor did she have the time to listen to him, so she let him pull her back to face him.

“Dude, hands off!” a voice shouted.

Sun and Blake turned to see Louie King staring at them, pulling his hands out of his jacket pockets and curling them into fists. Louie took a step closer to them, raising one fist up as he wiped his lip with the other one.

“Let her go.” Louie shouted again.

Neptune and Jaune walked up to them, standing behind Sun and Blake as Louie King’s eyes widened. Still, he wiped the fear off his face and scowled at them, holding both fists up and bouncing around like a martial artist with bad form.

“Louie, no.” Blake pushed Sun away and walked towards her savior.

“Blake, no. I can take them. Yang’s been teaching me some stuff.” He growled as he sidestepped Blake and faced the three guys, “You guys think you can come here and pester girls? Well, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not scared of you.”

“Dude, calm down.” Neptune scoffed as he pointed to Sun, “He’s Blake’s boyfriend.”

“No reason to touch her like that.” Louie barked, “You guys better leave before I open a can of ass whopping.”

“Louie!” Blake held both his fists into her hands and lowered them, “These are my friends. We were just talking. They aren’t hurting me and they were just leaving. What are you doing here, anyway? You don’t work on Thursdays.”

Louie cast another wary look at Sun, Neptune and Jaune before he tucked his hands back into his pockets, “Xiao Long asked me to cover her shift this morning. You know I’ve got classes up ‘til four, so I’m here to take over Velvet’s shift as well.”

“Oh.” Blake felt her heart drop. Yang wasn’t even inside and she had been standing around outside in the cold, trying to convince herself that cancelling the date was a small mercy.

“Well, I better head inside.” Louie King said as he cast one last threatening glance at Sun, Neptune and Jaune, “Velvet’s probably waiting and you girls probably have plans. You sure you’ll be fine?”

“Yeah.” Blake nodded.

The four of them watched as Louie stalked towards Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, constantly looking over his shoulder at them.

Sun had invited her to do something soon, but Blake was in no mood to listen to any more of his ramblings. He was a nice guy, but she was disappointed and in need of an hour with Velvet on Barthel Hill.

She waved them goodbye as she ambled closer to the front door of Noola’s. She hadn’t heard the boys leave. She hadn’t heard them mutter to each other as they watched her disappear into the building, drowned by the ding of the overhead bell and Ms. Delaney’s cheerful greeting.

“Oh, Blake!” she exclaimed, “Perfect timing. Velvet’s just changing out of her clothes. Mr. Pirelli’s dog was a little too much today.”

“Shelby.” Blake nodded, pointing aimlessly as she asked to look around.

Blake sighed the moment Velvet walked out of the backroom to greet her. She watched the usual goodbyes between Velvet and Ms. Lulu: Velvet would thank her as she slipped out of the front desk, walking towards her and Ms. Lulu would tell them to take care, drive safely.

They stepped back out onto the empty street and made their way back to Blake’s parked car. Velvet circled around to the passenger’s seat while Blake eyed the surface of her black sedan with keen eyes, searching for scratches and dents that she knew weren’t even there. It was a habit she couldn’t shake and a habit she found comfort in.

Blake slipped inside and clasped her seat belt with a definitely click of the lock. Velvet already had her seat belt fastened waiting for Blake to start the ignition so she could pick a radio station the two of them could listen to.

“We heading up to paradise?” Velvet didn’t even have to ask, but Blake nodded as the vehicle moved forward.

Blake nodded. Her throat felt dry and she was afraid that she would burst any moment. No, there was a time and place for an emotional breakdown and driving towards a potentially dangerous location outside of the city was a good reminder to keep her eyes dry and her breathing steady.

They made a left turn when they reached the intersection, onto the back road bridge over the river. Blake glanced out the window, over the horizon and was met with the blinding reflection of the sun.

She chewed on her bottom lip as they continued their drive, silently cursing the sun for daring to shine so brightly amidst the weather forecasts of cloudy skies and rain storms that lead up to winter. She sighed and also found comfort in the knowledge that the night skies would look different the colder the season got.

Blake promised herself that she would have to go on a road trip alone. Not that she didn’t enjoy Velvet’s company, but having Velvet around usually meant Coco Adel would invite herself and drive from the backseat.

No, Blake wanted to see the sights on her own, to cruise along the highway up to seaside towns and endless fields of rocks and grass and the first stop would be the view from the Woodworker’s Bridge, the one that had taken Blake’s breath away a couple of times in the last year.

“I like this song.” Velvet exclaimed as she pulled her hand from the radio dial, “ fell on hard times a year ago na na na na... ”

Blake smiled, letting the brief feeling of contentment wash over her troubled soul. There was comfort in Velvet’s singing in the passenger’s seat, eyes on the road and her tightened grip around the steering wheel.

The drive up to Barthel Hill was relatively quiet. Velvet hadn’t insisted on plugging her Scroll into the auxiliary cord she knew Blake had stashed away in the glove compartment, wedged between the pages of the car’s manual. It was a pretty genius hiding place, somewhere so simple that Coco hadn’t even thought of it.

When they had lost the radio signal, Blake shut the radio off completely, despite Velvet’s protests sighed so deeply, she fogged up the windshield for a little while.

“You okay?” Velvet leaned closer, a hand reaching out to hers.

Blake eyed her hand for a moment before she locked her eyes back onto the road, “I’m... frustrated.”

Her voice had come out shaky and just that brief admonition had opened a doorway of chaos and confusion that rumbled around in her stomach and smashed pots and pans in her head. Velvet, for the life of her, patiently waited for more words to spill out.

“I’m...” a phantom hand had clawed down Blake’s throat and tugged at her heart, “Something’s wrong.”

“Blake.” Velvet said softly, leaning back into the driver’s seat and placing her hand on Blake’s shoulder, trying to calm the girl down, “We can talk when we get there, okay? Just a little bit longer.”

Blake nodded until her head hurt. She was falling apart for the first time in a year, but she was glad that Velvet was the only one to see, the only one to witness this. Blake stepped on the accelerator and the car lurched forward, dangerously.

What was the hurry though? They practically had an hour to themselves, all alone in what they had called paradise. It wasn’t as if Blake had never mentioned bits and pieces of her troubled psyche to Velvet.

It was never a clear picture. It was snippets of lies poorly stitched together with watered-down truths. In all these months, in all that’s happened , all the nights she lay quaking in her bed, scrambling to lock her apartment door and pretending that none of it bothered her – she was scared of one thing:

The truth that was Yang Xiao Long.

It all leads back to her and Blake felt all her lies bubbling to her head.

But somebody had to know the truth. It would make her feel better to just lay it all out, even if they didn’t understand, even if they didn’t truly approve, just as long as they would hear her and their secret slice of paradise was the perfect place, if not the most secluded one.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as secluded as she thought.

A teal pick-up truck was parked where Blake would often park her black sedan. The folding chair was right in the middle and on it was Coco Adel, mouth slightly open in surprise but quickly turned into delight upon seeing them.

“They’re early.” Velvet murmured and cast Blake a look.

“Hey!” they heard the muffled cheer of Coco, who practically jumped out of her chair and waved both her arms at them.

Yatushashi and Fox were there too, drinking orange juice and devouring a giant bag of potato chips. They waved with as much enthusiasm as their self-proclaimed leader and had set out a bunch of their other snacks for the new arrivals to eat.

“We could tell them that you want to head back to the city.” Velvet reassured her, leaning across the console to put her hand over Blake’s, “They’ll understand.”

“Come on, you two!” Coco cried out again, plopping down on her throne, “Stop having a moment and spend some quality time with us.”

Blake sighed and shook her head, “It’s fine.”

Before Velvet could even react, Blake quickly stuffed her keys into her pockets and climbed out of her car. She kept her head down as she moved closer, listening to the grass crunch beneath her boots. She kindly refused the potato chips Fox offered, but accepted the orange juice that Yatsuhashi held out for her.

Blake was already seated in between Coco and Yatsuhashi when Velvet approached them. She sat herself down next to Blake, close enough for their hips to touch.

“You guys are early.” Velvet’s voice rose an octave as she addressed Coco and the boys.

“Professor Port didn’t show up.” Fox chuckled.

“Huge quiz next week though.” Coco shrugged and eyed the two of them, her eyes constantly staying on Blake for a second or more longer, “What’s up with you two?”

“We’re fine.” Velvet laughed, “Apart from this really tedious grooming job, it was a relatively slow day at work.”

“Yo, Blake.” Coco waved a hand in front of Blake, “What up, girl?”

Blake bit her tongue and looked around at all of her friends’ faces. They were all looking back at her, concern on their faces and words, so many words held at the tips of their tongues. She had seen the expression on their faces before - numerous times for the last year.

She just paid little mind to them. The realization crashed into her like rolling waves against a sleepy shore.

_I am a bitch._

Blake held her breath and shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

Nobody made a sound. Nobody moved an inch. Perhaps they were processing what she had just said. That was the closest to the truth she was going to get and this was going to be the most she was going to say to them. Or so she hoped.

Blake wasn’t even too sure herself, if she was ready for all of the truths - in all their shapes and sizes - to come spilling out of her guts and into what they all desperately wanted to be their paradise.

“I beg your pardon?” Yatsuhashi broke the silence as softly as he could and Blake wanted to wrap him in a warm embrace or, the very least, hold his hand.

“Something’s wrong.” Blake ventured. It wasn’t a leap into the unknown. Judging from the looks on their faces, they knew that something was wrong too. This was just opening the door completely. “With me.”

“Nothing’s wrong with you, Blake.” Velvet cooed as she wrapped an arm around Blake’s shoulders, pulling her close so Velvet could hug her completely.

Blake just laughed as her friends winced. Even Coco winced. The great, unfeeling and brash Coco Adel shrank into herself, sitting upright and staring at the discarded bubblegum wrapper at her feet.

“How long are you all going to keep lying with me?” Blake laughed and for a second, she couldn’t recognize her own voice. So distant. So detached. So entirely unlike herself.

That was it, really. Blake had been trying, for an entire year, to be someone she thought she was, someone who felt nothing, someone who kept lying and lying and lying to herself. Because she was scared of who she was beneath the aloofness and the smirks and the I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.

_Fuck you, Yang._

Blake sighed. These thoughts had been swarming in her head and burning into her insides like acid for so long. That had been the best option than spitting it all out - whatever it was - because that was the problem… she wasn’t entirely sure what this was, but she had a feeling of what it might be. The only thing that Blake could be certain of was that Yang Xiao Long and her stupid golden hair, and her stupid crooked smile, and her stupid pretty eyes, and her stupid “good-mornings” were right in the center of it all.

_Fuck you, Yang._

“Where do I even begin?” Blake sighed and crushed the juice carton in her hands, digging into her flesh to redirect all of her feelings elsewhere, somewhere tangible.

“We’ll try to keep up.” Coco smiled and it was probably the most gentle expression that had ever graced the girl’s face. No doubt she would threaten everyone to forget they ever saw it.

So, here it was on a Thursday night, the sun setting beyond the miles and miles of highways and that stretched into endless plains, that Blake Belladonna was seated in the middle. Coco, Yatsuhashi, Fox and Velvet listened to her frustrations, no matter how little she thought them to be, to her disappointments, to her stuttering and her failure to piece her thoughts together.

There was no trace of surprise on her friends’ faces. They knew the things that bothered her and they said nothing. Blake felt anger for a moment. Why hadn’t they thought to ask? Why hadn’t they sat her down before?

Then she remembered who she was and redirected the anger to herself. She wouldn’t have told them. In fact, she had never once thought about telling them before today.

This was heaven, Blake thought as she felt her heartaches streaming down her face, felt the world tug on her heart. It wasn’t what the books had painted it out to be, the pearly white gates, the angelic chorus, the cool water and naked babies. Heaven was right here, in the arms of her friends and it was bloody, it was messy, it was exhausting. It was a welcome rest from the constant lying.

Some truths were beautiful and were nurtured. Some were horrible and longed to be forgotten.

Still, they were the same. Still, they were forgiven and accepted.

Blake wiped her tears and for the first time in so long, she felt like she could fly. Velvet had sat herself down on the worn -out folding chair and Coco sat by Blake’s feet, her arms around her waist. Blake had no more words to make for her truths, but she had promised she would tell more the next day.

“Damn it.” Blake cursed as Coco pulled herself away, “I need your help.”

“Who?” Coco crawled over towards Velvet, “Me?”

Blake looked around at them all, “Everyone? I messed up. It’s pretty bad.”

“We got you.”


	13. Holding to a Hope

The night air was chilly, a complete contrast to the heat that she felt rising in her throat, rushing through to the top of her head. She felt like her head was about to explode from the fury.

_ Stop calling me. _

This was the twenty-third booty call this week alone. She had already gotten seven in the last two hours. This has been going on for quite some time now, she shouldn’t even be surprised; especially since it was the Friday night after the preliminary exams and major quizzes.

She slipped her hand into her back pocket, pulled out her Scroll with as little gentleness for the device as she could muster. Her fingers felt numb and the heat from the device was a welcome warmth. That was probably the only positive thing she could find, given the current situation.

_ Taurus is calling… _

She didn’t have time for this. She had a term paper to finish by Monday morning and her neighbors had been listening to the same chiptune song three times a day for the last two weeks, rattling the sufficiently-thick walls of her apartment building. She didn’t even want to mention that egomaniacal plant growing in her kitchen.

Blake Belladonna had other things to worry about. Not her incessant humming, or the scent of pine trees in autumn, like the first drops of rain against the pavement; not her lopsided smile that ruined her face, but was oddly a distracting trait when their paths did meet; not her eyes that—

** No. **

Hypatia was not going to write herself.

Yang Xiao Long.

She was… different. Odd. She and Yang seemed to have nothing in common. The girl lacked subtlety, much to Blake’s chagrin. Yang was brash and reckless, loud and rambunctious for their age. It didn’t help that there were rumors floating around Beacon about her.

It all boils down to the fact that Yang was just a pretty face.

And those flowers? A bit antiquated. Still, Blake had to admit that they looked pretty – just like who they were from – but extremely out of place in her apartment.

Blake waited as the call ended, fading into the digital clock display on her black  lockscreen . She unlocked the device and opened her text conversation with Velvet.

Just got out of the library. Where are you?   
Blake, 7:32 PM

This Yang Xiao Long business has been a nuisance of late, a fuel to the teasing of her friends. Coco had taken it upon herself to constantly bring up the girl with Blake. Fox and  Yatsuhashi joined in the jabs oftentimes with their own contributions of how attractive the girl was. Velvet was the only one who placated all of them. Blake thought it was probably because Yang had been the one to recommend her at  Noola’s . Coco was both pleased and irritated at that and that had only fueled her dislike for the blonde.

Blake looked across the deserted campus. She knew Fridays meant every single person her age would flock to bars, frat parties and  Makeout Point, but Beacon looked like a ghost town and she was the one doing the haunting.

She could book a taxi to come pick her up inside the campus, but Velvet hadn’t responded yet and she had made a promise to be more present in her friend’s life.  So, she would wait, comforted by the thought that Velvet would never take too long to respond.

Blake made her way to the seventh gate of Beacon University, in the far back where it was much closer to the far more interesting locales in Vale. It was the farthest and the streets were dark, but she knew that there was a little convenience store at the end where a couple of kids usually hung out.

She wrapped her fingers tight around her Scroll, not wanting to miss Velvet’s text, not by a minute or even a millisecond. This week had been rough, frustrating and bothersome, and she was desperate for a drink. She was also looking forward to discussing her familial issues and her pesky admirer with someone.

Blake would have to wait to discuss the latter, until they were all a few bottles in and rationality would be chucked out of the window. And after a couple more bottles and shots, she would even rant about him.

Her Scroll dinged, followed by a quick vibration in her palm. She turned the device over with practiced grace and smiled at the predictability of Velvet’s response.

Mare’s Nest with everyone. Need Yatsu to pick you up?   
Velvet, 7:38 PM   


That was a welcome offer, but Blake knew that sending  Yatsuhashi out to pick her up from halfway across town would take too long. She continued walking in the darkness, the fear waning when she heard voices from the distance. A few more minutes of walking around Beacon University on her own and Blake would have thought that she had died at some point in the night. 

No, thanks. Will catch a cab. See you in 20.   
Blake, 7:39 PM

“Hey.” A voice called from the shadows, soft and shaky.

Blake stopped in her tracks, clutching her Scroll close to her chest as she squinted into the darkness. The seventh gate was in sight, but there was nobody there, but the security guard and the slender frame of a woman.

“You’re Blake, right?” the woman stepped closer, walking into the orange glow of the lone streetlight.

“Who are you?” Blake muttered as she shot a nervous glance at the security guard.

“My friends call me  Em .” This  Em stood underneath the glow of the light, proud and waiting, “That’s Merc.”

Em waved a hand in the direction of who Blake thought was the security guard, but Blake didn’t spare him more than a moment’s scrutiny, her sweat beginning to pour out of her pores, alarm bells deafening in her skull.

“I don’t know who your friends are.” Blake gazed at her Scroll again and quickly unlocked her device.

“Coco and I had a class last semester.”  Em took quick yet unthreatening steps forward, “Coco Adel?”

Blake scoffed to herself. Everyone knew who Coco Adel was and Coco Adel probably had classes with practically anyone last semester.  Em’s words didn’t narrow it all down.

“Right.” Blake murmured, navigating to her contacts list, planning to turn back into the darkness and the loneliness of Beacon. It was much less nerve-wracking to be the one doing the haunting.

“We’re here to talk.” Merc called out as he approached  Em .

“Although two against one is a shady situation.”  Em croaked a laugh.

“I’m  gonna go.” Blake turned on her heel, her eyes zeroing in on Velvet’s name as her finger forcefully jammed into her screen. The low crunch of gravel against her boot echoed in the silence. Before she could take another step towards the darkness, she felt strong arms wrap around her, pulling her backwards. Blake kicked and thrashed, struggling to break free as she shouted, “Let me go!”

“Someone just wants a word with you.”  Em called over Blake’s screams, “Merc, cover her mouth,  you stupid brute. There are probably some kids still here.”

A calloused hand clamped down hard over Blake’s mouth, muffling her cries for help. She stared at her Scroll, the display flashing Calling Velvet… until this man had yanked the device out of her grasp and quickly ended the call.

Her heart was ready to run as fast as she wanted to be doing, but she was locked in place, being dragged backwards. She tried screaming against his sweaty palm, tried breaking free from his vice grip. Someone was bound to hear her.

Right?

“Hurry up!” Merc’s voice vibrated against her back, his breath against her hair. He was pulling her closer, moving towards  Em .

Apart from the thundering in her ears and the cries burning in her throat, all Blake could hear was a zipper and rustling plastic. Merc turned Blake around, practically throwing Blake to this  Em . For a moment, the night air soothed the burning in her throat. It was a blessed moment, cut short by a damp woolen scarf that  Em pressed against her face.

Blake thought she was drowning, gasping for air where there was none. She jerked her hand to try and fight until the only thing she could even think of doing was to close her eyes.

"Where am I?" she said dryly, "Where do you think I would be? My apartment."

Blake pulled her thick coat tighter around her chest, keeping what little of the summer was left as close to her as she could, a futile attempt since autumn was coming close and there were news reports of a storm heading into Vale in the next week or two. The heavy mahogany and frosted crystal of the double doors were indeed quite fancy to look at, but the weight of pushing into them every single time she came home was becoming tedious. Most especially since the last doorman quit last week and the new one spent all his time chatting with the concierge. 

"No, Velvet, I do not need you to come over tomorrow." Blake groaned as she squeezed her hand into the pocket of her slacks, searching for the jagged metal of her keys, "I'll just... pick something out."

She successfully pulled the keys out without getting the metal snagged onto the edge of her pocket and easily slipped the object into the keyhole. She pushed the door open with her hips as she slipped the keys back into its place. She stared at her slacks then - her favorite pair... out of a couple of other closely similar pairs in her closet - but these were soft and they fit her hips perfectly. The others didn't quite settle as comfortably as these and Blake swore that the pair her mother had gotten her for Christmas was uneven. 

She listened closely to Velvet on the other end, barely registering the soft clatter of her own boots against the marble floor of her apartment complex. It was the best her parents' money could buy and its gaudy elitist atmosphere kept the neighborhood from the common rabble. It wasn't exactly the kind of image Blake wanted to adopt for herself. She wanted to live a life of her own making, outside of the Belladonna name, and moving away had been a perfect opportunity to  start but being the only daughter of a family that had no idea what to do with their finances, she stopped arguing and turning down the gifts in the first semester. 

Blake scanned the stark-white lobby, making out the rotund concierge with the thin, greying hair, openly laughing at whatever inside joke he and the scatterbrained doorman, Henry, were sharing. She nodded to them as soon as their eyes met hers and they returned the gesture with wide smiles and a tip of an invisible hat. She made her way to the elevator to the side, eyes moving between the cold metal of the elevator door and the sudden movement of the two men in the lobby. Henry the Doorman waved at her. Blake Belladonna wasn't the friendliest of tenants, but she sure as hell wasn't the meanest.  So she waved back and forced a little smile before she skipped into the elevator as soon as it opened for her. 

"Live a little, will you, Blake?" Velvet sighed on the other line, almost inaudible, but the response had been expected, "Your first date in heaven knows how long and it's with Yang, who I think you're secretly in love with for a year now."

Blake groaned, "I am not in love with her. It's just a date." 

"Sure." Velvet said pointedly, "You're going to wear pants, a sweater and your boots, aren't you?" 

Blake felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she clamped her mouth shut. 

"And I'm guessing you're going to give Yang the cold shoulder the entire night." Velvet continued with less enthusiasm. 

"No, I wouldn't!" Blake blurted out, leaning against the elevator's handrails, "I'd be nice. I... I am not in love with her." 

"Blake, everyone can see it from oceans away." Velvet said in between fits of giggles. The elevator door slid open and Blake stepped out onto her floor, ignoring the odd pink hue of the walls, cast by the mid-afternoon sun. At least the apartments were blindingly white with a little bit of black and brown here and there. "I'm sure you can see it too and your mind's probably still processing the information. Like always." 

Blake groaned as she rounded the corner, pulling her keys out of her pocket, "You know what, Velvet, I'm  gonna have to ca—"

Reflexively, Blake tightened her grip around her Scroll, trying to process the information that stood in all its malevolent glory right outside of her apartment door. She wasn't sure if her heart was working overtime or if it had completely stopped. Velvet had tried to hang up for her, but Blake had only whispered her objections. It was the best she could do. Her senses had  ran away and every nerve in her body had demanded for her to do the same, yet she was frozen in place, mouth agape and trembling under the gaze of danger. Terror. Pain. Black and blue and with the most twisted smirk Blake had ever seen. 

"Blake!" Velvet had shouted before Blake pulled the device away from her face and, with shaky hands, slipped it into her pocket as if she had ended the call. 

Blake felt alone and terrified. She hoped Velvet hadn't hung up on her, prayed with all of her doubts that Velvet didn't think she was joking, that her friend was still listening. Better yet, Blake hoped Velvet would come storming into her apartment building and fend off Adam Taurus while she was helpless and shaking like a damn leaf in the wind. 

"Hello, Blake." Adam pushed himself off the wall and stood in his full height. His hair was slicked back and shining with copious hair gel. The smell of designer manly musk filled the air and Blake could feel the scent coaxing her to vomit. 

Adam was handsome. Adam was disgusting. He always had been both. Broad shoulders, thick neck and a sharp jawline and those piercing eyes and aquiline nose. He looked like a heartthrob movie star in a romantic high school comedy from in the turn of the millennium, ready to whisk the gratuitous female lead with barely any lines off her feet with the promise of change. Blake couldn't help but think that, maybe, Adam would grow to be less attractive the older he got. 

"What are you doing here?" Blake kept her voice even, tried to make it seem as if she was unfazed, but Adam must have caught on to that involuntary step backwards as he smiled a little bit wider, his approach unimpeded. 

"Here to visit you, darling." he chuckled, "It's been a while. I heard you were at the party in my house last week, but you left early." 

He kept coming closer towards her, lean muscle flexing underneath his tight-fitting sweater, a miserable attempt to seem threatening. But Blake knew Adam and she knew how dangerous and threatening he could be. She wanted to spit on his face, to watch him recoil from her undignified behavior and to see him walk away from her life for good. She wanted to be free of him, but he would never allow that and any previous attempts at that had only led to him putting her on a shorter and shorter leash. Blake was trapped. 

"I've been thinking about you lately, Blake." Adam cupped Blake's cheek as he pressed himself against her, "I was hoping that you have had enough time to think about me  too — about us. I've thought about that night a lot and... Please just stop making this difficult for the both of us." 

Adam pressed himself even closer, pushing Blake backwards, his hand gripping her shoulder as he led her to the wall. The hand on Blake's cheek had found itself at the back of her neck. His thumb ghosted the pulse in her throat. He must feel her heart hammering away, sending ripples of fear and panic right beneath where he traced taunting circles on her skin. 

"I've been a very good boy, Blake." he said so softly, breath hot against her cheek, "I even let your little slut go that night she trashed my house." 

Blake felt an icy chill run down her spine. She stared up right at Adam, right into the evil that lurked just beneath his beautiful face and his charming smile. Her memories began to twist and meld together in her mind, like an alarm blaring in her skull. He was taunting her. Adam was threatening her and it had always been at the expense of someone else. Blake swallowed the lump on her throat, feeling the heat from Adam's rough hands against her neck for a brief second and for the first time, Blake felt fire in her chest. 

"She's not a slut." she said through gritted teeth, "Her name is Yang." 

Adam laughed. He laughed at her false courage, at her mockery of his evil grace. He laughed and the fire in her chest disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Yang, slut, all the same to me. Word around campus is you asked her on a date."

Blake's eyes widened for a split-second before she wrestled with her facial muscles to act as if she wasn't a little bit alarmed, terrified, sick. How did he know? She shouldn't have asked her. She should have marched up to her workplace and cancelled. She should have kept her distance. She should have realized this sooner. Adam was never going to go away, not even in his silence. Blake Belladonna was marked for death. 

"I'm disappointed in you, darling." Adam pressed his hip into her stomach, his fingers dancing on her skin until they circled to cup her chin, "But I get it. I'm a very patient man. If I was in your place, I'd fuck her too if only I didn't love you so much. I do love you, Blake. I'd do anything for you. I've waited this long, haven't I? I gave you all the time and space in the world." 

Blake forced her eyes closed. Adam ran his finger across her jaw and sniffed her hair. She desperately wanted to move, to push him off of her, but he was heavy and despite her blood pumping through her veins and alarms echoing in her head, she was too paralyzed, too terrified and too powerless. She was prepared for the worst, so when she felt him pull himself away, Blake could breathe again. Adam Taurus stood still in front of her, his hand flat against the wall while his other hand brushed her hair away from her face. He leaned close, close enough for his lips to brush against her cheek and his breath lingered around her nostrils. 

"You can have your fun." His voice was low and mocking, "Do whatever you want to her. You have all weekend. If that's all it's going to take for you to get over this little obsession you have with Ms. Tits-for-Brains, then be my guest. When you've gotten that little fantasy out of the way, I'll be waiting." 

He smiled as he leaned down to press his lips against hers, softly and quickly before he released her. He sighed as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his whitewashed jeans. 

"I've given up a lot for you, Blake. The sacrifices I had to make." He reminded her.  Oh, how he reminded her. "I hope you'll stop being so selfish sooner rather than later."

Adam flashed his warmest smile one last time and then he walked away. Blake could feel her body shutting down, just like it did last year. She was helpless. She was trapped. Her throat had constricted and she sank against the wall, her legs pooling wherever and however on the floor beneath her useless body. 

She could hear Velvet's muffled shouting from inside her pocket or was it her own voice screaming at her from the back of her skull, berating her and blaming her for all of the misfortunes in her miserable life?

_ Word around campus? _

It had only been a few days and the only other people she had told about her date were her friends. They would never tell anyone else because who else were they going to talk to about Blake's private business? Could Yang have spread the story herself? Sure, she was reckless and talked a lot, but she wasn't a gossip. Right? But she would have told someone about it. She had friends. Maybe they could have talked.

"Blake, please talk to me!" Velvet shouted in sheer desperation, "That's it. I'm calling the police."

Blake would have ripped her pocket off to get to her Scroll, but her hands were still shaking and her body ached in places Adam Taurus hadn't even touched that afternoon. With clumsy fingers, Blake managed to grab onto the device and press it against her ear, feeling the heat of the device seep into her sweaty skin. Her throat felt dry and she feared that her terror would only allow her to scream or cry. At last, she found a single word that she could form with a whimper. 

"Don't."

No. In her mind, Blake Belladonna was unruffled. Not this. Not this mess of fear and dread, like a dog about to piss itself. Not like her world had run into the beginning of an end she had been expecting and all she could do was pray to a higher being she had just made up for her convenience. 

"Blake, please." Velvet begged, "I can't let you live like this anymore. We need to call the police. I don't care who his father is. He needs to pay for everything he's done." 

"No, Velvet. You don't understand." Blake sobbed, her shoulders began to shake and her mind was reeling. "I've tried before. I've called them. I've gone to them, but it'll only make things worse."

Silence. Blake was imagining Velvet breathing on the other line, chewing her bottom lip in ineffectual frustration and her nails digging into the palms of her hands. Blake had made a mistake. Adam's silence and distance didn't mean he stopped believing in the possibility of them. Time never made things better. Not for Adam. It had only allowed her pain to fester and eat at her while Adam's fixation on her grew stronger,  more vile . Now he had all of his twisted attention on Yang.

Time had made her careless.

Blake Belladonna was not in love with Yang Xiao Long. No.

But she liked her. She liked her  hair; the way Yang would twirl a clump of it around her finger when she was deep in thought. She liked how Yang smelled like pine trees, cold and icy, a direct opposite to how warm the girl looked. She liked her smile. Lopsided, as if she knew she had a "good side". It looked as sweet as she sounded. Don't even get her started with Yang's eyes. 

Blake was enamored. But she was not in love with Yang. 

Blake sighed. She should have just left Yang's stupid jacket on the counter or had asked Velvet to give it back to her instead. She shouldn't even have washed it. Blake should have kept her distance. She should have kept her mouth shut last  yea — last week. 

Damn Yang Xiao Long and her ridiculous smile and her stupid hair and the way she seemed to be a walking ray of morning sun cutting through the storm. Damn her and how she looks so formidable and vulnerable at the same time, sparkling lilac eyes and that stupid, stupid feelings Blake had been tamping down since the damned moment Yang had asked her to " gret dinner" with her. Most of all, damn her infallible feelings, flattering as they may be, but if the girl had just moved on, then she wouldn't be caught in the middle of Blake's problems.

"I'm coming over." Velvet declared, "Just give me ten minutes."

"... oo long." a voice said from a world away, rapid and breathless through the haze that pounded in her head, "We can't wait that long."

"We need the money." it was a woman's voice, angry, impatient, desperate, "We were told to wait.  So we wait. Unless you want to stay — turn left up here."

The air smelled like wet carpet, spoiled beer and old cigarettes in the darkness and Blake's entire world was bouncing up and down peacefully, jostling her here and there with the gentleness of a ship at sea. Until gravity had pulled her forward and then back with the force of a fifty-foot wave crashing down on her. Blake tried to move her arm, grateful that she could even feel it, but frowned as she felt a thin line around her wrists. She wiggled them about and almost poked her eye out, awkwardly pressing her palm against the malodorous yet soft surface that brushed against her cheek. She tried to stretch her legs, to see if she had been tied there too. She was able to stretch her legs apart, but her knee collided with metal and Blake was left with the horrible assurance of where she was and what was happening to her. 

She was crammed inside the revolting trunk of a moving car. She was being kidnapped. 

She was calm. 

"I don't like this." a gruff voice announced, "We could've just gone to some frat party and picked some drunk rich kid's pockets. The usual, you know. I don't understand why we had to take a sober one?"

"Drunk rich kids use credit cards and the new Scrolls have those Nimbus trackers and Seek My Scrolls." the girl sighed and a loud thud followed one after another, "This is a simple delivery job that pays three times as much as we could get from frat parties. Times are changing, Merc, we  gotta do the same or else Remnant's  gonna swallow us whole."

Thieves. Pickpockets. Kidnappers. Criminals. Pathetic drivers.

Blake twisted and turned in what little space that she had, feeling for her belongings, her Scroll, her wallet, anything that she could use, but her pockets were empty and her bag was nowhere within reach. No doubt the couple driving this car had already commandeered her stuff or threw it out of the window.

She had to stay calm despite the nausea she felt and the drumming in her head. If these petty thugs had intended to hurt her, they wouldn't have gone through all this effort to drug her and stuff her into the trunk of a car. Blake shut her eyes tight, forcing out images from the last book she had read, of a girl who had been forced to dig her own grave before she was shot in the head. The girl survived. But that was a book. And Blake was beginning to feel her lunch creeping up her throat. 

" Makeout Point?" the man's voice came, loud and angry, "It's Friday night. The place is probably full of people,  Em , drunk, reckless and stupid people. There are patrols posted here now after that last drug bust."

"Calm your tits."  Em snapped, "There are four  ragers at Beacon alone. Big ones. Lots of alcohol and drugs. I hear there's a bigger one on the other side of town."

"Then why aren't we there?" the car stopped abruptly.

Blake had slammed against the part of the trunk that faced the passengers before she rolled back to her previous position. She grunted into her shoulder, the air knocked right out of her. The climb was getting steeper and Blake could only assume that they were getting close to  Makeout Point.

"You're not listening!" a muffled slam almost made Blake jump, "This job pays a fucking lot of lien than sneaking drugs in for some privileged dicks. Yeah, that shit's fun and some loser gives us free beer, but it's not enough. It's never enough. We need to get out of here, Mercury. Don't you want a better life?"

Blake could hear the sound of the dirt cracking beneath the weight of the car as they continued their drive. She had expected them to talk again. The man seemed a little bit  chattier and they were both arguing about the job. Blake had discarded the belief that her captors would turn around and let her go. That sort of thing doesn't even happen in movies anymore. How much more in real life where money was at stake and a chance of a way out of whatever life these guys seemed to have. 

The sound of a guitar crept into Blake's ears. The man probably turned the radio on. Blake recognized this song. In fact, she had thought this was a nice song. This was the perfect time to start banging on the trunk's interior, screaming at the top of her lungs and hoping that there were people close enough to hear her pleas. It was Friday night, for heavens' sake, and  Makeout Point was the place to be on a lonely night. Blake kicked, shrieked and rammed her feet and fists into the inner surface of the vehicle. She had to be as loud as humanly possible for the first time since she had been a needy child. 

Blake wished her parents were near, just like when she was younger. They had told her she wailed at the slightest inconvenience, loud enough that the neighbors came knocking and demanded they shut the girl up. 

But her parents were miles away and Blake Belladonna was alone. Fear had finally seeped into her pores, making her shiver despite the sweat all over her neck and her pounding head. Her fear had come and gone and gave way to exhaustion from her futile attempts to search for help. She didn't want to give up, but her muscles began to tense and ache, the last of her efforts driven only by her desire to survive. The truth had slowly enveloped her in its frigid, wicked embrace, stilling her until the hopelessness had pulled her closer and closer to the dirty carpet beneath her. 

She was going to die tonight. 

That was the truth of it. And if there was one truth that she wished to stare down before that one, it was that she never really loved anyone. Not that she knew of, at least. Not that she was certain of. Not like the kind she had read in her books, the one that kept you awake at night with yearning, and the one that poor unfortunate romantics would lay down their lives for. 

_ "I was wondering if you'd like to  _ _ gret _ _... get dinner with me."  _

**_ Not now.  _ **

The car vigorously jostled around until it came to a sudden halt. The music had only gotten louder now that the sound of the engine had faded into the night, the song nearing its tearful, heart-wrenching end. There was no freedom here, not when the song itself had ended too and the silence stretched into eternity. Blake redoubled her efforts, thrashing and screeching like a madwoman with an insatiable hunger for freedom. She dismissed her bodily pain, used the last of her waning energy to hopefully scare these scumbags away. But she had only been met with a thumping as loud as her own, deafening in that unintended staccato. 

"Shut up, you fucking bitch." the woman shouted above Blake, "This'll only take ten minutes." 

_ Ten minutes for what? _

"Help me!" Blake continued screaming, her words straining against her throat. 

_ Ten minutes for  _ _ what?I _

Another loud bang came from right above her head, shocking her into silence. Her ears felt as if they hand been pierced with ice picks and she no longer knew if her tears were the only ones streaking down her face. It was dark and cramped in here and Blake was beginning to feel as if her limbs would fall off any moment. 

Ten minutes. 

She had ten minutes. 

She had to come up with an escape. There have been plenty of documentaries where people have escaped from the trunks of cars. There were TV shows and news segments that had mentioned this as well. There are people who had successfully immobilized their captors and were able to run to safety or get help. 

That was right. Blake didn't need a savior. She just had to be one. She just had to stop quaking like a helpless pig for the slaughter, stewing in her own sweat and fear. 

But for the love of all that is good — she never actually watched any of those. 

To make matters worse, her mind began conjuring up those images of a grave being dug up in the middle of the night. She remembered a book with a woman lying on the beach with a screwdriver sticking out of her eye and a woman who had been tied up in the trunk of a car, much like herself, taken to a clearing and she had managed to escape being dissected — but the damned protagonist had been a trained cop and she had a gun. Not Blake. No, Blake was a silly girl, armed with tired arms and covered in sweat and tears. 

Blake bit her lip, shutting the self-deprecating thoughts aside. She forced her brain to work harder than it had ever been, pushing it to overdrive, rolling herself further back, deep into the trunk of the car. 

Ten minutes. 

She'll be ready. 

It was more than enough time to plan her escape. 

Blake waited, back against the wall and her legs absorbing the thumping in her chest. Her throat felt like ash and her limbs felt heavy. She knew she ought to get up. She knew she had to stare at something else other than the uneven patch of pink paint, but she felt like a stranger in someone else's body, watching and feeling every bit of emotion, but unable to do what her mind had been telling her to.

She said ten minutes, but it had already been fifteen and she was nowhere in sight. Blake thought about checking her watch. She thought about lifting her Scroll to her face, to check the clock display, to open her messages or to just call Velvet, but she couldn't even tear her eyes away from the infernal pink patch of paint. She studied the stroke of it. Maybe a neighbor had scratched the wall. Maybe she did that without her knowledge. Maybe the hardware store ran out of the same shade of paint. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe she should pick herself up from the floor and stumble into her apartment, where it was relatively safe. That's what most people would do. 

No, most people would have called the police, even after all those futile attempts, even after watching them dismiss her every complaint, pretend to listen to her and ultimately brushing the case aside. Blake had cried, ranted and pleaded with the black and blue on her body — evidence — but they said that their hands were tied, that Blake shouldn't have gone to  Makeout Point. 

_ Kids these days.  _

_ Did you provoke him? _

_ My hands are tied.  _

_ Here's a lawyer you could call. _

_ Want me to call your parents? _

_ We're stretched thin with bigger cases.  _

Yes, Blake tried to send the entitled Adam fucking Taurus to prison, tried to make him pay for his crimes, not to let him walk around campus, talking up other girls, partying on weekends, setting up stupid fundraisers and stalking Blake and pretending like he had done nothing wrong — like he hadn't almost killed another human being. 

"Blake!" a panicked voice approached. 

Blake slowly lifted her head to look at where the most ungraceful sound of heels clattering into the floor was coming from, coming towards her — scrambling towards her. She didn't need to tear her eyes away from the pink patch of neglect, but Velvet's voice had been the most successful thing to pull her out of her stupor. Velvet, who was five minutes later than she had promised — but not that it mattered — was finally here and practically threw herself right into Blake's orbit. Velvet gently cupped her friend's chin, brushing her hair away from her face with murmurs of reassurance. 

Blake tried to stay calm, swallowed the lump in her throat and lied, "I'm fine."

"You're not." Velvet barely whispered, the very words and the anguish that surrounded them had been enough to unleash the flurry of pent up tears since she had gotten off her Scroll to rush to her friend's side, "You're sitting on the floor outside your apartment and I caught you staring into space. You're not okay. We need to get you somewhere safe." 

Then there was that. Somewhere safe? Blake had spent the majority of the last year living in fear and Adam's visit had only affirmed that she was right to feel as if she was being watched. He knew where she lived. He had been waiting for her right outside of the one place she thought was safe. All Blake could do was stare at Velvet for a moment. All fear and panic had chased away whatever feeling or emotion she had and left her a ghost of a woman, haunted by her own despair and seeing the terror flickering in Velvet's eyes. 

_ What is wrong with me? _

"Here." Velvet helped Blake lift herself off the floor, one hand keeping her steady while the other wrapped around her in what seemed to be a reassuring embrace. 

"Nowhere is safe." Blake murmured as she untangled her arm from Velvet's to take her keys out of her pockets, "Not when that piece of shit is running amok. When he's done with me, he'll move on to someone else. It's what happened before and it's going to happen again." 

"Blake, you're scaring me." Velvet tried to grab onto Blake's hand, to get her to stay still, but Blake had successfully pulled herself away to open her door. 

"I'm scared too!" Blake twisted the door so violently that her fingers had slipped from the doorknob, her knuckle slammed into the door frame, "I've always been scared and I sure as hell will always be unless I do something." 

Blake clenched her hand, to override the pain in her knuckle with the way her fingernails dug into her palms. She slowly turned to Velvet, the anger pooling into her fist until her knuckles turned white. The fear and the despair  were beginning to catch up to her, pushing up from the depths of her mind, from the bowels of her false courage and out through her eyes in a wave of tears. She let it all out for a moment, allowed the helplessness and the hopelessness to take over every blood in her veins. 

_ Never again.  _

Blake swiped at her nose with little care, sucking in all of the tears, "This is going to happen again and again and again and again and I am so fucking tired."

Blake turned her back on Velvet, faced her door and managed to turn the knob without hurting herself. She was not going to allow Adam fucking Taurus to ruin her life more than he already had. He was not going to plague her thoughts and nightmares the way he already was. In one quick and ferocious motion, Blake slipped her coat off and tossed it into the hallway with a thump. She waited for Velvet to follow her into her home and close the door behind her, but Velvet was transfixed and Blake had no choice but to leave her gaping in the doorway. She stomped into her bedroom, pulling off her sweater, ignoring the soft sound of ripping fabric. She slipped out of her slacks, throwing the pair onto the floor right by her bed. She pulled her flannel shirt she wore to bed frequently out of her closet, grumbling as she buttoned herself up. She marched back out to the main room, just in time to see Velvet folding her coat neatly over the old leather couch.

Blake studied her apartment in dismay — the wide windows that she only cared for when it was raining outside, the way they would cast her entire home with the faintest hint of light and gave her a gloomy yet picturesque view of the Vale skyline. That old leather couch had been her second bed, falling asleep on the uncomfortable piece of furniture on several occasions when she thought she could burn the midnight oil for an exam or a paper. Her shaggy white carpet still had that wretched stain in the corner where Fox had spilled grape soda all over it. Her kitchen had that island she always wanted and rickety cupboards that always held more than what they seemed to be able to. That sink needed some repairs and maybe she needed a new refrigerator. 

Sure, this place wasn't as pristine as when she had first moved in here. Sure, some things were falling apart and a few needed to be repaired or outright changed, but this place was her home. She had spent many days and nights within these walls and felt comfort in knowing she was safe here, that the horrors of the universe were locked outside of her door and buried in the deep recesses of her mind. 

But it had been standing right outside her door, waiting for her with those violent eyes and those threatening lips —

_ He fucking kissed me.  _

Blake couldn't shake the feeling of dread dripping from the walls, hiding in the dark corners, watching and waiting. The feeling of his lips still lingered on hers and Blake felt sick. Her home was tainted. 

Nowhere was safe. 

**_ Thud. _ **

"About damn fucking time." Blake felt the car tip a little bit to the side — to her right before it pushed back out as soon as the weight of one of her captors had been lifted from it. 

"Where's the girl?" Blake heard a voice as soon as the radio gotten shut off. Without warning, the car tilted sideways once more and now Blake was sure that both of her captors had vacated the vehicle. 

"She's in the trunk." the girl,  Em , said, her voice growing distant with every  syallable , "You can do whatever you want with her. Just give Merc the keys and we'll be on our merry way."

"We had a deal." Merc growled.

"Fine."

Blake could hear her own blood rushing to her head, her heart starting and failing with each passing second that she remained in this small enclosed space. Her fate lay on the disgruntled exchange she could barely hear, her heart starting and failing with every false alarm, every single threat that arose in the darkness.

This was all Adam. She was sure of it. Only he'd be this twisted to do something like this.

_ Fuck! _

She was feeling light-headed now. Was it possible to die of asphyxiation here and now? She hoped it was. It would be a much better alternative than what stood outside the trunk of the car. It would be a better option than having to look right into Adam Taurus' face and see what he would do to her. He had always expressed his interest in her, but she had always turned him down. That must have riled him up, that had sent him into a jealous rage, threatening to cripple whoever asked Blake next. He deserved the yes. Nobody else. Even if he already had a girlfriend.

"It's all here." the man had said.

"I think we're done here. Thanks."

Blake heard the sound of rattling keys and of hurried footsteps, tripping over stones and dead grass. She held her breath as she heard car doors open, but she didn't feel them. Her back was practically glued to the trunk of the car now, the top of her head brushing against the top, knees pulled up to her chin in as much comfort as her small space would allow.

She heard the start of an engine and wheels crunching over the ground, rushing away until Blake could only hear her own life ending in slow, deep breaths. Blake pressed her back further, wishing she could just phase through the car and make an escape. Her plan seemed so ridiculous now. She barely had enough space. But she hoped it would be enough to buy herself some time. She held her breath as she scooted further back. She was losing feeling in her fingertips, gripping whatever she could as she pulled her legs closer, ready to kick at any moment. There was a soft knock against the top of the trunk.

Adam was trying to make sure she really was in here.

Dumb bastard. He should have checked before letting the goons he paid to kidnap her drive away.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Shit.

This wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

She heard the keys rattling, scratching against metal. The trunk was going to pop open any second now and Blake was going to push her leg out and kick the living crap out of him. She would kick him in the throat and she would run into whatever opening she could find. She would run into the trees, down the steep hill and possibly crawl over to the highway beneath, hoping that a passing car would provide her with safe passage back to the main streets of Vale.

The trunk had moved and Blake pulled her leg back, pressed her back to give her some leg space, the top of her head and her hands close to bleeding by now.

**_ Thud. _ **

The trunk had opened and quickly closed down on her head, the pain rendering her unable to move when the trunk door fully opened. The air was damp and smelled of piss and rotten cheese. It was dark. Not that it mattered. She could barely make out the figure standing over her, reaching for her collar and pulling her out of the car and onto the dead grass. Her knee knocked into the rear bumper as she fell to the ground on her elbows and the palms of her hands, thankfully able to keep her head from colliding with the dirt. 

"Clever, but I'm not as dumb as you think I am."

That was not Adam's voice, Blake thought, sucking in whatever pungent air she could as she scrambled backwards to get a good look at her doom. Her eyes were beginning to focus now, barely able to make out a head of black hair and a pair of eyes that looked quite like her mother's.

"What does he fucking see in you? You look like trash."

"Where..." Blake tried to stand.

She had a plan.

But the pain.

Her head.

Ten minutes wasted.

"You're right where I want you to be, my little slut."

Blake stared into her not-mother's eyes, could make out the shoulders of a woman and the swell of breasts despite the dimness of the night. She heard a grunt and felt a foot slam into her chest, the heel pressing against her own chest. This time, Blake grunted as the wind had been knocked out of her.

"I'm going to record this for the whole school to see." the woman laughed, walking away from Blake as she rolled around on the ground. "But you  gotta promise me you won't tell Adam. That'll take the fun out of all this."

A voice in her head had been yelling at Blake to get back on her feet, ignore the dizziness and just make a break for it. Head into the trees and right down the hill and onto the highway. If she had to stumble and fall to her death, it would be better than this.

Blake managed to get up, managed to take a step towards the car. She would be safe inside. She could lock all the doors and watch this crazy bitch knock against the windshield, but Blake would be--

Fuck!

She had the damn keys.

Blake staggered further away, managed to take three steps towards the direction of the trees. She would rather die than endure whatever hell this was going to be. She was going to be free and Blake had believed that was going to be true until she felt her shirt collar tighten around her throat, as she was being hauled backwards. Her head slammed against the car's rear bumper again and Blake could taste and smell metal as the world dimmed and blurred around her. 

"You look sick." the girl cooed in mock-concern, "You should lie down for a little bit. That little prick said he'll be here any minute, but, what's new? I'm always the first, but never when it counts. Fucking bastard." 

"Who" Blake tried to sit up, tried to wipe the dirt off the corner of her lips and to dislodge the small, sharp stones that had embedded into her chin and wrist. The girl gently placed her hand against Blake's chest and slowly, but forcefully, pushed her back down, "Who are y—you?" 

Blake gazed into the flame in the girl's eyes, watched her nostrils flare and her jaw clench. The girl had moved her face closer to Blake, close enough to smell the cigarettes on her tongue and the stale beer between her teeth, close enough to stare into the eyes that looked exactly like her own. Blake had struck a nerve and she wasn't even sure if it was a small victory for her or fuel to the fire and a much slower death. 

Fuck. 

She really was going to die tonight. She felt like puking. 

The girl's hand pressed into her chest again, holding her down while her other hand softly caressed Blake's aching cheek. The girl whispered as she ran her thumb over Blake's lips, "You are so precious." 

"Fuck!" Blake cried out as the girl's nails dug into her cheeks, clamping her hands around the girl's wrists, desperately trying to pull her vice grip off of her with whatever strength she had left.

"It's Cinder, bitch!" the girl screamed into Blake's face, "I'm Adam's fucking girlfriend, you fucking whore. Don't think I don't know what you've been doing behind my back. I wasn't born yesterday. Go screw around with someone else's boyfriend." 

It was hopeless. Cinder was hopped up on alcohol, nicotine and jealousy — a dangerous combination along with money, paranoia and self-deprecation. Blake, on the other hand, was still disoriented, her head pounding and her chest still tender from when Cinder had forced her back down on the ground. The girl over her kept muttering obscenities and baseless claims as she rocked Blake back and forth, occasionally slamming her skull against the rear bumper or slapping her cheek to keep her awake. Her words were a jumble of sounds, fading into the background of her agony, of her desire to be anywhere but here. 

The sound of a car approaching had managed to pierce through her despair and Cinder's senseless wailing. Blake turned to look at a pair of headlights cutting through the rows and rows of trees, inching their way up the hill. Cinder had loosened her grip around Blake's jaw then, turning to greet who must only be Adam Taurus. 

"What took you so long?" Cinder shouted before the engine had even been shut off. 

Blake looked into the direction of the white car. Adam's car — she recalled. She had seen it before. The headlights went off and Blake never thought she would ever feel happy to see Adam Taurus step out of his car, fury and confusion in his eyes, demanding to know what Cinder thought she was doing. 

"You and I need to have a talk, babe." Cinder laughed and gestured at Blake as she wrapped her arms around Adam's neck, "I know you've been screwing around with this trash. How could you? I gave you everything, Adam. How could you sneak around with her and think I would never find out?" 

"Calm down." Adam said as he pulled Cinder's arms off of him. 

Blake swallowed the lump in her throat. She went over her plan once more. She had to make it to the trees, hopefully she would lose them and then she would run down the side of the hill, back down onto the highway and hitch a ride. She turned to the direction of the trees, ignored the wailing and the argument happening right in front of her, but any slight movement had left her head pounding. Blake felt as if her ears were about to bleed at any second and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. She had to come up with a new plan. 

At least these two idiots were pretty good at distracting each other for her to at least try to escape using her original plan. Blake pushed herself off the ground, stones and tiny twigs lodged themselves into her skin as she settled all her weight on the palms of her hands. She didn't care though. She had only one thought in mind and that was to get out of her as soon as possible. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Cinder grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled Blake towards her chest, "She's so vigorous and feisty, isn't she? Is that why you stopped touching me?" 

"I'm not..." Blake coughed and sobbed, "Not sleeping with him!" 

"Bull fucking shit!" Cinder screamed into her ears and Blake could feel her world beginning to melt away from her, her blood rushing to her eye sockets. 

"Babe," Adam whispered, arms raised to quell Cinder's anger, "It's the truth." 

"Stop lying to me!" Cinder sobbed, her grip loosening again as she sniffled against Blake's hair. 

"I'm not lying." Adam moved closer and stopped two feet away from them, staring down at Blake with as much reassurance as he could muster, "We're not. She likes someone else. You remember that blonde bimbo  hanging  around the boys last month? Blake likes her."

Cinder stopped pulling at the roots of Blake's hair, but her hand was still firmly pressing Blake's head against her chest. The girl had released a breath she wasn't holding and Blake could feel her straighten a little as she swung them both around by an inch. The sobbing had stopped and the tension was almost immediately cut in half. Blake filed away the news that Yang was hanging around the boys for some other time, for some odd reason. Out of place the thought may be, but it was something to keep her mind from the bubbling in her stomach. 

"You're a dyke?" Cinder said with as little tact as she stepped away from Blake like she had a contagious disease. 

"Let her go, babe." Adam pleaded and Blake could hear the defeat in his tone. 

Blake felt like running into his arms, hiding behind him as he dealt with Cinder, but no, she wouldn't do that. She would just thank him and run away. Never mind that it was an hour's walk back down the hill. Never mind that she could probably ask them to take her back to Vale if she promised not to tell. She didn't want to spend another second around these to maniacs. These psychos belong together and Blake had no intention of staying within their twisted bubble of love.

Cinder was so in love with Adam, Blake thought. One single plea from him and she had let Blake go, tossing the dazed girl to the side as she barreled into his arms, apologies and undying love for him piercing the night air. Blake tried to keep her balance, successfully taking one step out of danger before she tripped on her own leg and her whole body plopped onto the ground. The force had knocked the wind out of her again and she was dizzier than she had been. To make matters worse, Blake felt her brow sting and a warmth pooling along the side of her face. She prayed it was only her sweat, but she knew better. 

"Baby, I'm sorry." Cinder whimpered against Adam's chest.

Blake turned to face them, huddled together in the dark. Five seconds, she thought to herself, just five more seconds and then she'll try to get back on her feet. She was tired. She was dizzy. She felt sick. She struggled to breathe. Five more seconds. Then she'll do as she had originally planned. She would even crawl to the trees and throw herself off the side of the cliff if it meant she would be free from them. She'll be free. She'll be safe.

Just five more seconds.

"You could've hurt her, babe." Adam sighed.

"Adam!" Cinder's voice had been strained, breathless and gagging.

Blake shouldn't even care. She should have just gotten up and rolled down the stupid hill if she had to, but she turned her head and saw the way Adam had clamped his hand around Cinder's throat, the fury in his eyes burning into her soul. His muscles were taut as he lowered the struggling girl down to the ground, straddling her as he bent forward to put his entire weight into his grip.

"I care about her, babe." Adam continued, his grip tight around Cinder's neck, whispering to the girl scrambling and flailing against him, "You know I do and you thought it would make me happy that you'd hurt her? I'm so disappointed in you."

"...can't..." the girl gasped, "...A—dam..."

As grim as the situation may be, Blake found her chance. Adam was distracted and Cinder was definitely not going to stop her from escaping. She could run away as far as she could, crawl under a bush and hide there in the darkness until she would hear Adam's car drive away. All she had to do was be quiet and ignore the sounds of struggling. But she turned to look at the way Adam snuffing the life out of the girl — the girl who had had her kidnapped and who had manhandled her.

Blake was a bitch, but she wasn't heartless. 

"Let her go." Blake croaked, stumbling towards him with whatever strength she had collected from her brief respite, "Adam, stop it."

Adam hadn't heard her. He tightened his grip around her neck as she kept trying to fight back, trying to swat him off of her like he was a tiny pest, buzzing about and annoying her. But Adam Taurus was a big man and Cinder's efforts were growing weak with every failed attempt to get him off of her. 

"Adam, stop this!" Blake cried, stumbling onto his back and trying to pull him off of the pale-faced girl. But Blake had spent most of her strength in making her way towards him. She had none left to spare, to miraculously overpower him. Even as she clenched her hands into fists and showered him with light jabs and pulled at his ear, feeling her fingers brush off of his sweat-slick skin. 

Blake's actions had been enough to irritate Adam. He let Cinder go and stood up to his full height, leaving her gagging and gasping beneath his feet as he turned on Blake. The back of his elbow met with her cheek, sending her tumbling backwards to the ground once more. He had shouted something, but Blake could feel her eardrums starting and failing and her vision begin to go blurry. He kept shouting until Blake could only stitch together his words — that Blake was ungrateful for his help, that he was doing this for her, that Cinder needed to be taught a lesson so she doesn't come back and hurt Blake again. 

_ Hypocrite.  _

Adam raised his leg and sent his foot down on Blake's stomach. She heard a crunch. Between her shouts of agony and Cinder's sobbing, Adam had continued his tirade. Blake wondered just how much air a pair of lungs could hold and how long until he would force her very last breath from her? Blake's head was spinning again, a cry bubbling in the back of her throat and in the corners of her eyes as Adam's foot fell onto her side for the nth time in the span of thirty seconds. This was agony, she thought. 

But the blows had stopped coming and her body was allowed to wallow in the pain that Adam had inflicted, but she could still hear fists colliding into flesh and Adam cursing under his breath, Cinder crying and begging for him to stop. Blake tilted her head, groaned as her stomach stretched as she looked up to see Adam straddling Cinder's body once more, elbows thrown back and his fist ramming into her. In the blink of an eye, Adam had stood over her, kicking some dirt into her face as he held Cinder up by the back of her neck. 

Blake couldn't move, not even when Adam had thrown Cinder's body on top of her, bloody, black and blue, tear-stained cheeks and her lips split and swollen, her eyes shut tight as blood dripped from her nose. Cinder had rolled off of Blake and cried and wailed. Everything hurt. It felt like a millennium, just lying on the ground and listening to the cries of anger and anguish, blending together into a shrill symphony of terror and despair. She hadn't noticed how Adam stood over them both, kicking some stones and dirt into their faces. 

Blake wanted to scream. 

She wanted to push herself from the ground, to push Cinder away from her and to push Adam out of her life, but she was weak and breathless and everything fucking hurt. All she could do was wait turn away from the smug smile on his face, to look at the disfigured girl beside her, breathing ragged and strained as her tears kept mixing with her blood. Blake waited for the faint rise of the beaten girl's chest and a twitch of her finger as Adam bent down to inspect them both. 

"Does she turn you on instead, Blake?" his breath was ragged, but his tone was even, "Or would you rather have that piss-poor dumb blonde with huge tits? I see the appeal." 

Adam laughed as his fingers ghosted Cinder's temple, brushing a strand of her matted hair away from her face, caressing her split lip with his thumb as she lay unconscious in front of the man who had done this to her, the man who said he loved her — loved them.

"I really get it, Blake." Adam continued, his other hand tracing circles around Blake's temple, "I like feeling like a fucking hero, too. It turns me on. And that — Yang Long, was it? — she's your charity case. For fuck's sake. I get it now!"

"Adam!" 

That was a different voice. Wasn't it? Blake hadn't imagined it, right? Someone was here. Someone was going to help them. But Adam didn't move an inch. His fingers still danced over her face and on Cinder's face and how can his touch be so fucking gentle and covered in blood?

Fuck!

"You'll come to her rescue, providing for her, make her feel like she can't live without you." he chuckled, "That's quite the power move, Blake, and she'll be so grateful that she wouldn't have to work another day in her life that she'll do whatever you want to her in return. I think about that too." 

" Adaaaam !" 

"I care a lot about you, Blake." Adam whispered, "I would even go so far as to say that I love you. I only have your best interests in mind. That's why I'm  gonna give you some time to clear your head, straighten things out and get over this little god-complex of yours. That Yang Long? She's just a phase, darling. You and me, we belong together. You belong to me." 

"Adam, where the fuck  are you, bro?" the voice called out again and Adam straightened at the sound, "There are girls at the House. They don't have shirts, man!" 

"Don't keep us waiting!" 

There were voices, distant and coming towards them. Blake had wanted to shout, wanted to cry out for help, but her breath caught in her throat and the pain in her diaphragm was too much. 

Adam crouched over Blake and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "She's not — She'll never love you the way I do, Blake. She can never give you everything you'll ever want. I hope you realize that soon and stop making this hard for the both of us." 

Adam straightened and walked back to his car in long, quick strides, as if he hadn't almost killed Blake, as if he hadn't killed the girl lying next to her. Blake heard the unspoken threat in his wake. She could hear the gears turning in his mind as the engine of his car roared to life and backed out of the clearing. Blake could hear Cinder whimpering in her unconscious state, uneven breaths, but she was breathing. And Blake could only be glad that she wouldn't have to go through this alone. She wouldn't have to die alone. When Blake closed her eyes shut, she could imagine a head of wild golden hair sprawled across the grass, the scent of pine trees fleeting and fading fast, the ghost of a smile and lilac eyes glassing over as her last breath escape her cold lips. 

"H—he..." Blake's voice had barely lifted off the ground. 

" Oh come on!" a voice called out from where Adam had gone, loud and excitable. 

"You can walk back to the House,  bruh ." 

"Help." Blake tried to ignore the pain in her stomach, she tried to shout despite the sound of laughter tearing through the air and the sound of stone and gravel beneath a set of wheels and despite the voice cursing into the wind. 

Blake forced her eyes open, tried to make out the silhouette of the girl beside her. She didn't have blonde hair, a strong aquiline nose and an equally strong jaw. She didn't smell like the forest on a rainy morning or  woodsmoke . This woman — Cinder — was cold and bloody and pasty. 

But she was still alive. 

"Help!" Blake sobbed into the grass, closing her eyes shut and holding on to the image Cinder's faint breathing in her head, "Help! Help! Help!" 

Her voice was her only comfort now, banishing the nightmares that plagued the last moments of her life, that threatened her sanity and sent her over the edge. She didn't know how many times she had cried for help, didn't even know if anyone had heard her. She had been crying for what felt like hours that stretched into an eternity. Blake couldn't breathe and her face was beginning to get warm and sticky while the night air had grown colder and damp. 

"Hey!" 

Blake dreamed of a voice. Or had it really been there, calling out to her, coming closer with each crunch of dead grass, twigs and stones. She forced herself to look up, but the darkness didn't help her weakened eyesight. She must be suffering from near-death dementia, but her face was practically glued to the ground now and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion and the cold embrace of death. 

"He..." she coughed, barely registering the warm hand against her cheek and a voice that had tried to pull her back. 

"Hey, hey, hey." it murmured, "I've got you." 

"Help." Blake whispered one last time, finally resigned to the fate that she had known since she had woken in the trunk of the car-- doom.

"I got you."

"Let me go." Blake said in a low, threatening voice, "Velvet, please."

"Can you please just sit down for a minute?" Velvet begged, her hand firm around Blake's wrist, tugging her back to the couch with a strength Blake never knew she had.

"I need to go down to the laundry room before the other tenants come back from their jobs." Blake argued, pulling herself free from Velvet's grasp, "There are plenty of seats there. You're welcome to join me."

Velvet huffed and threw herself onto the couch, "Jeez, Blake, be reasonable. You're not going to stay here tonight, are you? It's not safe."

"I know!" Blake cried as she stormed back into her bedroom, pulling a pair of faded sweatpants out of the closet, "But this is my home, Velvet. 

"Home is a place where you're safe, Blake." Velvet groaned, watching Blake shove her foot into the sweatpants, "This place isn't safe anymore. You can stay with me. It's not nearly as fancy as this, but it's right on the food district — plenty of people coming and going at all hours — you wouldn't be alone. You'll have me with you too. We can even get Coco to stay with us for a little while."

Blake sighed as she  hopped around, struggling to get her foot through the stupid sweatpants. With one final tug, she managed to get her foot through and pulled the sweatpants up to her waist, adjusting it before she threw herself on the space next to Velvet, head hung low and her eyes glued to the backs of her hands. 

"Blake," Velvet inched closer to her, resting her head against Blake's shoulder, "if you're thinking about fighting on your own, then you're not as smart as I always thought you were."

"I don't want to drag you into this, Velvet." Blake said softly. 

"Too bad because I'll always come running after you." Velvet held Blake's hand as she giggled, "You'd be a fool to think you can do this all on your own. It's easier when you have friends around, Blake, and we've all been here for you. You practically have an army already." 

"Thanks." Blake said with the ghost of smile across her lips, squeezing Velvet's hand in return. The fear still lingered, but she allowed Velvet's words to comfort her, if only to help her keep moving. She'll think of something that wouldn't have to involve anyone else, but right now, she needed Velvet's cooperation 

"I'll help you pack some clothes and pick out what to wear for your date tomorrow." Velvet forced a laugh, "I'll let you have an hour-long bubble bath in my really awesome tub. I'll even tell you some really funny stuff about Yang."

Yang Xiao Long. 

Of course, there was that date that Blake had asked her to. And Blake couldn't quite figure out why she had even asked the girl on that date in the first place. She couldn't figure out why the thought of danger had suddenly slipped out of her thoughts. She had gotten careless all because of a pair of bright lilac eyes and the way they would squint when she smiled that big, goofy lopsided smile of hers — and that was definitely hers. It belonged right where it would light up her entire face.

Blake pressed her fingertips against her lips where Adam had kissed her. 

That was it, wasn't it? It was that smile. Then there was more. Blake remembered. It had been her hair too, at one point, waves and waves of gold. It had been the shape of her ears when Yang was engrossed on her lecture notes one morning. It had been the shape of her shoulders one afternoon eight months ago. It had been the tufts of her hair that curled around the back of her neck. It had been her long eyelashes that night at the Lambda house. It had been her voice when she hummed softly. It had been the unspoken promise in her eyes before Blake jumped off the balcony that night. 

But it had been that smile at  Noola's that afternoon, so shy and hopeful and so utterly and honestly, completely, very Yang Xiao Long in all her glory. 

It dawned on Blake then. Every single time, every single moment, she hadn't stopped herself from feeling anything for her, she had only delayed the inevitable. She liked Yang. She liked bits and pieces of her, one at a time, all that she could allow. Even in her grief and fear, this insufferable, radiant and oh-so lovely girl had wormed her way into Blake's mind, little by little.

"I once walked in on her slow dancing with a three-foot cat." Velvet sighed. 

Right now, it was that very thought that had roped Blake in. Yang, back turned, a cat's head on the crook of her neck as they swayed to a cheesy, bittersweet love song. 

Blake laughed and allowed the warmth to spread through her. She needed it now more than ever. 

"I'll drive you back to my place." Velvet circled the couch to place her  hands on Blake's shoulder, pulling Blake's hand away from her lips, "You can take a nap, if you want. I can pack some of your stuff for you. Then tomorrow, we can come back for your car or something. Parking's going to be crap around my place, but you don't mind walking anyway, right?" 

Blake looked deep into Velvet's eyes and despite the warmth and comfort in them, she could see the quiet determination of Velvet  Scarlatina , who was dead set on doing anything and everything for her friend — for her. Blake swallowed the lump in her throat, tried to chase the fears away. Yang was right, that night at the Lambda House: sometimes the only thing we have left is to fight back or let it happen again and again. Or it could be worse, let it happen to someone else. 

"Adam's not going to stop, Velvet." Blake whispered.

"I know." Velvet nodded solemnly. 

"I've tried running away. I've tried laying low and staying silent. But he's still breathing down my neck like a goddamn leech. I have to fight back, Velvet. It's the only option."

"That's what friends are for, Blake." Velvet stood, tackling Blake into a tight hug.

Blake melted into it; she loved the feeling of being held, of being safe. She loved knowing that she wasn't alone, that somebody has her back. If she had all the time in the world, she would stay in Velvet's arms a little bit longer, but Adam Taurus had just defiled her home and the very thought of him near her made her skin crawl. He had stolen a kiss — a kiss that was now meant for someone else. 

_ Never again. _

"I have to make a call." Blake pulled away from Velvet, feeling for her pocket to find her Scroll.

Blake didn't need to move away from Velvet. She would understand. She melted back into Velvet's embrace as she skimmed through her contacts list, skipping past names until she reached the very bottom. Velvet and then  Yatsuhashi . There should be a name between the two of them. It never bothered her before, but it did now, especially since they had to meet each other tomorrow.

"I also need to go grocery shopping." Blake added as she pressed the name above Velvet's, "After I get my slacks washed."


	14. Burning Over You

"Can we get those cream cheese brownies?" Ruby said as she wrapped her hands around Yang’s forearm, sending the shopping cart a little to the side in her excitement. 

Yang grimaced and spared her sister a sickened sideways glance, who had been too busy tugging her over towards the desert aisle for those disgusting cream cheese brownies she wouldn't stop talking about. Yang stood her ground as she straightened the shopping cart. 

Ruby had always been  _ obsessed  _ with sweets and their parents had been worried that she would rot all her teeth away by the time she turned twelve. Yang herself had thought that Ruby would outgrow the yearning for sweets and eat like a normal person when she grew older. 

But Ruby was sixteen and she still acted like a six-year-old sometimes. 

Still, it was nice to know some things didn't change and that, despite the incredible amount of sweets and Ruby ate, her teeth were fine, as far as Yang knew. 

"They taste weird." Yang argued, hoping to lead Ruby away from the ungodly desert aisle and over towards the vegetable section. 

"They're an acquired taste." Ruby pouted, "We're not getting any brownies, are we?" 

"Nope." Yang sighed, wishing she could just pick the small girl up and strap her down in the cart. Ruby may be small, but even her teenage stature was too big for that and Yang really didn't want to drive another four blocks for their grocery needs in the near future. "Look, I'll make some chicken nuggets with some barbecue sauce for dinner if we skip your shitty brownies." 

"Language!" Ruby pushed Yang away from the shopping cart, taking over the responsibility of pushing the cart for herself so that Yang could lead the way. 

"You're sixteen!" Yang groaned, "I started saying  _ fuck  _ when I was thirteen." 

"That's not something to be proud of." Ruby huffed, "And chicken nuggets sound really amazing right now." 

The two of them walk about the grocery store in silence, casting glances at the shelves for things that were on their list and keeping a lookout for things that they might need. 

The girls had agreed to do their shopping every other Sunday, when  Noola's Pet Wares and Groomers would be closed, but none of them had anticipated that Ruby would eat through two days' worth of food in one sitting and when Yang had accidentally burnt one or two meals yesterday. Yang had been distracted, to put it simply and Ruby had mentioned that she was still feeling anxious about school. 

If Yang was being honest, then she too was feeling anxious about  _ everything  _ that was going on in her life. Things were changing pretty fast and she was barely catching up. Some days, Yang had forgotten that Ruby Rose was living with her in her apartment until the young girl would trot right out of her bedroom. 

Some days. 

Most days, Ruby would make her presence known, wiping down the kitchen counter, washing the dishes, distract herself with whatever Yang was worrying about or maybe whining about her physics homework. Yang had seen her younger sister's notebook. There were barely any notes scribbled onto them, but there were plenty of doo dles  — caricatures of Ruby's teachers and the principal .

"Hey, Yang?" Ruby said nonchalantly, her eyes shifting between jars of the same peanut butter brand that lined the shelf beside her. 

Yang waited for her sister to continue, remembering what Pyrrha had told her the last time she spoke with her neighbor. Apparently, Ruby was  _ nervous  _ around most people and Pyrrha had asked if Yang would let Ruby set the pace in their conversation if it might help them communicate better. Pyrrha's advice has been helpful  — __ _ ish _ _.  _

Yang couldn't really tell for sure. Maybe that tactic was super effective since she and Ruby hadn't really bickered or lost their cool with each other in the last couple of days, but Yang still felt like something was missing. 

Used to be, the Xiao Long – Rose sisters had their own private little codes and signals. They could reach other's emotions, thoughts and intentions with a single quirk of a brown, could differentiate what a slight shrug meant and what three successive ones meant. One long look meant something. A pout. A wave of the hand. The curve of their smiles or a grin.  _ Monkey-face. _

They had a language that only the two of them understood. It was something that not even their parents knew. It was theirs. 

And it was gone. 

These days, Ruby barely talked to her, sneaking in and out of her bedroom or giving the occasional  _ nod of acknowledgement _ when one would enter the apartment. But Yang wanted to change that. After all, they were sisters. 

"Yeah?" Yang finally said after a beat too long and no change in Ruby's demeanor, highly aware that her sister didn't really like talking loudly. 

"You're not busy next Thursday, are you?" Ruby still refused to look her in the eye, grabbing one jar of  crunchy peanut butter and reading the fat content over and over like she really cared. 

Yang titled her head to try and get Ruby to look at her, but the young girl preferred reading through the nutrition sheet so Yang grabbed a can of pea soup from the closest shelf instead. "I do have classes in the morning and then work in the afternoon. I'll probably be home around seven." 

Yang put the can back where she had plucked it off of. She turned to Ruby again, expecting a response or an explanation to her question of Yang's schedule, but the girl had only slipped the peanut butter jar back on the shelf and continued pushing the shopping cart, as if Yang hadn't said anything. 

But Yang knew better and if she really did mean that she wanted for things to change between her and Ruby, then she would have to work extra hard to get her sister to open up to her. She jogged to Ruby's side, nudging her with an elbow and poking her cheek to lighten the mood a little, because the mood wasn't heavy and stifling anymore. Not for Yang. She wasn't the angry and brooding teenager she had been when she left a couple of years ago. No, she was the cool sister. She always was. 

She just forgot that  **_ one time  _ ** when everything and everyone else didn't matter as much as she did. 

She was young and angry and reckless and tired. 

"Is Ozpin going to come over on Thursday?" Yang prodded, intentionally avoiding Ruby's gaze. 

She knew Ruby still felt guilty and nervous that Yang had found out she called him and complained about her. Even after Yang said that Ruby had every right to call Ozpin and that being able to have someone to call was an option Ruby needed to have, given their current  unconventional and temporary situation. 

_ Did your mom's family call?  _

Yang's throat went dry. A feeling of fear and dread suddenly washed over her. She quickened her pace a little, trying to keep a step or two over Ruby. She felt a tightening in her chest at the prospect of Summer Rose's family resurfacing and taking Ruby under their care. 

That would be the best news she'd get in the last month. This whole guardianship was only temporary anyway. She felt sorry for Ruby and felt bad about leaving her alone.  So she took her in instead of leaving her for Ozpin to toss around to foster homes. That seemed impractical considering Yang was still around. Sure, she wasn't the best option, but she was the only other family Ruby had left  — well, the only one Ozpin could call. 

The last time she and Ozpin had spoken about Summer Rose's relatives was that Ruby's maternal grandparents passed away shortly after Summer and Taiyang married. A few cousins had migrated to different parts of Remnant and that there was only a single family member who had a house in  ** this ** continent. 

But Ozpin had been calling her  — _ Liz _ — since Taiyang passed away and he was yet to receive a call back. 

"No." Ruby's voice was soft, irritated and somewhat nervous, "It's uh... It's for school." 

Yang stopped in her tracks, grateful that it wasn't what she had thought. The more that she thought about this Liz person, the less thrilled she was at the prospect of her  _ estranged  _ younger sister living with a relative even she hadn't met before. 

Slowly, Yang turned to face Ruby, fixing her with the most threatening look that she could make, nostrils flaring and eyes crazy and wild. Yang had gotten into trouble before, when she was Ruby's age and Taiyang had diligently gone to see the principal to clear the air for her on more than one occasion. 

But that had been Yang. Ruby had been called an angel. 

"What?" Ruby's eyes widened and she turned away from Yang. 

"What did you do?" Yang inched closer, leveling her face with her sister's. 

"Nothing!" Ruby cried out, shoving her hands into her pockets and leaving Yang with the shopping cart, "The guidance counselor just wants to talk to you about some stuff." 

Yang grabbed the cart and pushed it with a little too much force, trying to keep up with Ruby's surprisingly quick and nervous pace, "Are you they kicking you out or giving you a medal?" 

Ruby looked at her incredulously, "Really?" 

"Just tell me." Yang groaned, throwing her head back in annoyance. 

"They just want to talk to you, okay?" Ruby sighed and stared intently at the cans of air fresheners beside her, "She mentioned something about some signature and that they found out that dad died recently. So, I don't know. They just  wanna **_ talk _ ** to you." 

Yang kept her complaints to herself, biting her tongue as she watched the way Ruby awkwardly marched along the aisle, looking at the different scents of air fresheners. But Yang knew she just didn't want to look at Yang. Yang herself stared down at her shoes, at the spot where some mouthwash had fallen onto and the muddy patch that she still hadn't cleaned off. 

"What time?" Yang said softly. 

Ruby stopped in her tracks and murmured her response, "You don't have to go. It's just a stupid school thing. Whatever it is, I'll just get them to let me bring it home with me."

"Rubes." Yang stood right in front of Ruby, chest out, chin up and looking down at her, standing like their father would when either of them had gotten into trouble. 

Ruby rolled her eyes at the gesture. She looked, instead, at one of the dented cans to her right. The girl had clearly underestimated how stubborn Yang Xiao Long could be. If Ruby had her signature  _ super pout,  _ Yang had her hardheaded determination to weasel information out of people with the use of either an intimidating stance or the bat of her eyelashes  — and Ruby had always called her an ugly horse since they were little.

Yang planted her feet firmly on the ground as she leaned a little bit forward, one foot tapping impatiently, hands on her hips and her nose held as high as she could without having to strain her eyes so she could look down on Ruby. If the famous Taiyang Xiao Long stance wouldn't work on her, then maybe the Summer Rose frown would. 

Ruby had looked up at her with a little bit of recognition that turned into irritation. Yang knew that Ruby disliked it when she reminded her that Yang was tall and that Ruby was short. Her younger sister tore her gaze away and Yang just kept tapping her foot until Ruby locked eyes with her one last time. Yang narrowed her eyes and gave her a curt nod. 

And that was it. 

"Fine!" Ruby  grumbled, "Four p.m."

Yang bit her lip and returned to the shopping cart, pulling her Scroll out of her back pocket as she entered the noted the meeting onto her Calendar, I'll get Velvet or Louie to  cover for me then." 

Yang flipped her hair behind her as she made a dramatic turn towards the frozen food section. She pushed the cart further, eyeing the carton of eggs right in front of her. Ruby trotted after her, a little less snarky this time and a little bit dejected. 

"You don't have to." Ruby mumbled, "They just need to verify that my legal guardian isn't exactly an adult." 

Yang grimaced. 

Adult. 

Apparently, that word was not synonymous with Yang. It wasn't even in the same page as Yang, if other  _ eligible  _ adults were to be asked. To them, Yang Xiao Long was still a teenager, barely able to juggle university, a part-time job and now a sixteen-year-old girl. Never mind about her properties and estates, she still had to call Ozpin just to figure out the damned estate taxes and she didn't even have a stupid credit card. Yet. 

Maybe she really wasn't an adult. 

But was that such a bad thing? 

"You know what I mean." Ruby whispered, toeing the edge of the display shelves and listening to the soft clatter of cans against cans. 

Yang sighed. She knew exactly what Ruby meant and she didn't mean anything bad by it. The little girl was just as caught up in this mess as she was. Yang even knew what Ruby's school meant by needing to  _ verify Yang's adulthood and guardianship  _ or whatever. It started when they had mistaken Yang as Ruby's babysitter when she had enrolled Ruby into the first month of the school year. The principal gave her a once-over, asked her if there was  _ somebody else  _ they could call in case of emergencies. Yang had  plastered on the most adult-like  smile she could and said that she was the only living family Ruby Rose had left.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Yang smiled wryly, "I do have a very youthful face and I  _ did  _ just turn twenty-one, so yeah. Those dicks at your school administration need to see me? Well, then I'm going to bring my driver's license, birth certificate, passport and work permit." 

"Why not dig  up  mom and dad's marriage license too?" Ruby chuckled, grabbing a box bottle of cinnamon from the shelf, "Can we get this?" 

Yang glanced at the bottle, grabbed it out of Ruby's hand and threw it into the cart, "That's  kinda stupid, but maybe if they doubt we're related. Adulting. Fuck it. What the hell are they so worried about? I am an adult. I can handle myself and I can handle taking care of you." 

Yang kept walking, heading straight to the freezers where the chicken nuggets were usually in. She thought that maybe Ruby might enjoy the ones that were shaped like stars or animals and not the ones that looked like giant beans. 

As soon as she had haphazardly thrown those into the cart, she realized that Ruby was nowhere in sight. Yang retraced her steps and found Ruby still kicking at the shelf of cans. Yang approached slowly and cautiously, wondering why Ruby was sulking. 

"Monkey-face, what up?" She whispered as the cart stopped a few inches before colliding into Ruby. The nickname felt weird and childish and Yang half-expected Ruby to call her something equally ridiculous or unoriginal like  _ airhead. _

But Ruby had only twitched, her big silver eyes darting to look into her own. The little girl looked like a deer in headlights, frozen in place and about to piss her pants. Yang shook her head and laughed to herself. 

Ruby looked almost as if she  was eight years old again, hiding in the attic and waiting for the guests to leave the house. No, she hadn't been waiting for the guests to leave. She was waiting for Yang to sit with her and stare out the window. 

Now she was a sixteen-year-old girl who understands pain and loss a little bit better and feels all sorts of emotions in  exaggerated and amplified ways especially when it's happened again. She wasn't waiting for Yang, but it has to mean something that Yang returned, didn't it? 

The little monkey-face was growing on her. Again. Like a recurring disease. On e moment , Yang was sobbing into her pillow, wondering how life had shoved this half-adult, half-big baby into her care, and the next, she's wondering if Taiyang had set some college money aside for Ruby and if maybe she could shift her work schedule so she wouldn't have to miss work on Thursday. 

"Move your butt or else you're doing the dishes for the next two weeks." Yang said to Ruby as she pushed the cart back to the frozen food section, hoping that Ruby would snap out of her trance and help her with the groceries. 

Yang must have moved too fast and too suddenly, the shopping cart colliding right into a woman's backside  — a  familiar brunette woman's backside. This familiar brunette woman gave an audible yelp, quickly turning to her assailant with the most distressed look Yang had ever seen on her face. 

"I am so sorry, Velvet." Yang  vomited the words out, panic rising to her throat. Did she seriously just crash a shopping cart into the nicest person she'd ever met? Well, second nicest.

Pyrrha was a saint.

Oh, but Velvet was an absolute angel. 

"Oh, Yang. Hi." Velvet laughed nervously, rubbing at the spot Yang had crashed the cart into, "I'm fine. No broken bones or anything." 

"Yeah." Yang laughed nervously too, her shoulders bouncing up and down like a complete buffoon, "Still, I am so sorry. I should have paid more attention." 

"Velvet," a familiar voice approached, low and unamused, but how it made Yang feel so overcome with joy, "do you think she'd like  bana — "

Blake  Belladonna stood in between them, holding a hand of bananas, slack-jawed; her amber eyes wide as if she had seen a ghost. Yang would say that she looked exactly like she always did  — immaculate, if she was feeling poetic and downright beautiful if she would say the first word that popped into her head. Even in an oversized and evidently wrinkled red flannel shirt, she was no less otherworldly. 

"Yang." Blake said in a whisper, face slowly adopting the same neutral expression she had always worn. But there was something else there, lingering in the way Blake lowered her gaze to the floor. 

"Blake." Was all Yang could say in return. 

What else was she going to say? It wasn't as if Blake said hello or anything else that Yang could quickly follow-up with a sensible and socially-acceptable response that would make her sound a little bit smarter than she was. She hadn't even meant to respond, in the belief that something  — oh yes, something  — was bound to go wrong. 

"I do like bananas." Yang blurted. 

Blake stiffened, but kept her eyes to the ground. Velvet giggled into her hand, turning away from them and acted as if she had just turned invisible all of a sudden. Yang hadn't meant to presume. It was strange. She and Blake had never spoken much and most certainly had never exchanged words in this manner. They had never spoken about likes and dislikes so Yang was led to believe that they could be for someone else. 

"This isn't for you." Blake whispered. 

That was all the words Yang needed to hear to let her heart shatter in her chest and float around inside of her. She wanted to run out into the street and throw herself in front of  the next speeding vehicle she could find, but mortification was the strongest adhesive to ever exist and Yang was glued to the spot. All she could do was exhale through her nose, feeling the blood rush to her head and wish that she had never opened her mouth instead. 

_ Real smooth, Xiao Long, such a fucking charmer, you are.  _ **_ Fuck you! _ **

"Yang, look!" Ruby's voice called out from behind her, "Two for one and it's got free glow-in-the-dark stickers." 

Ruby Rose, bright smiles as if she hadn't been sulking five minutes ago, trotted in between all of them, hugging two boxes of whole-grain cereal. The embarrassment of the entire situation still had Yang feeling like her head was about to explode, staring dumbfounded as her sister  abruptly stopped right beside her. Ruby  held the box up for her to see after a couple of minutes, she finally noticed that Yang was in the middle of her social suicide.

Yang watched Blake openly stare at her little sister, lowering the bananas she had been holding. Velvet slowly turned around to face this new creature beside Yang, wary as if this pipsqueak would suddenly tear them limb from limb in the blink of an eye. 

"Uh, hi." Ruby whispered, hugging the boxes close and hiding behind Yang as if she was ten years younger than she truly was. 

Yang closed her eyes and shook her head. 

_ Way to play it cool, monkey-face. _

"Hello." Velvet offered her hand and Ruby tentatively reached out to shake it, "I'm Velvet. This is Blake."

"Ruby Rose." Her sister responded, letting go of Velvet's hand and sparing a quick glance at Blake. 

"Yang," Velvet cleared her throat, turning to her, but still kept her eyes on Ruby, "I didn't know you babysit." 

Yang was still reeling from the embarrassment as Velvet looked between her and Ruby. Blake looked as if she was suffering from a migraine and her eyes were either glued to the floor or on Ruby. But they had never met Yang's gaze. 

Ruby, on the other hand, sighed after a moment or two and shot Yang a disbelieving look. Her sister's change of expression had broken Yang's trance and she responded with her own look of panic and irritation, a silent  _ what?  _ that Yang hoped was evident in the way she quirked her brow. 

"Jeez." Ruby grumbled, tossing the boxes into the cart, "I'm basically your best-kept secret. Look out, world, I'm a walking urban legend." 

Yang sighed and rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ruby to just make things worse. There was no coming back from her social suicide from five minutes ago, but now, Yang was posthumously obliterated by her own flesh and blood. "She's my sister." 

Velvet and Blake shared a strange look, then they set their sights onto Ruby Rose, whose face turned beet-red from the sudden attention, and then back to her. She couldn't help but feel  _ guilty  _ under their scrutiny. The staring went on for a second or two or two-thousand or two-thousand-five-fifty-hundred. Who was counting? 

"Right." Blake murmured, still clutching her bananas like a lifeline. 

Yang's eyebrows shot up. Her face  twitched . Was that disbelief she just heard? Doubt? Distrust? "What? It's the truth." 

"I didn't say anything." Blake deadpanned. 

Velvet looked between Yang and Ruby with open curiosity, probably finding any sort of similarities that she could see. Yang knew it was futile. She practically grew up with Ruby, was practically raised to be considered a stranger to her own sister's life. She knew what Velvet was going to say next. 

"I don't see the resemblance." Velvet whispered. 

Blake sighed and shrugged, the irritation plain and clear on her face, "We wouldn't want to take up anymore of your time. You should go back to whatever it is that you were doing." 

Ruby groaned and elbowed Yang as she muttered, "Are all your friends gross?

The tension between all of them was palpable, suffocating. Yang could feel the disappointment and the judgment making their way into her soul. Who would have thought that a bunch of little  brilliantly worded secrets and vague  details could create a mess of this humiliating proportion?

Yang thought long and hard about what to say next. This wasn't supposed to be happening like this, like it was everything wrong and everything normal thrown into the pile and then exploding in her face. 

_ Why does this always seem to happen around Blake?  _

"I still have to pick up some other things." Blake sighed as she turned away, balancing the bananas in her hands and nodding to Velvet. 

"It was nice running into you, Yang." Velvet half-heartedly chuckled, " Although,  **_ you  _ ** were the one who ran into  **_ me. _ ** "

Yang smiled warmly at Velvet for a second and then sighed to herself. Velvet was such a saint, indeed. She never once failed to make Yang feel better in the entire time that they had known each other. Yang would even go so far as to say that Velvet was her safety net, ready to catch her whenever she would fall off the tightrope that was her silly infatuation for Blake. 

"There are gift baskets and care packages in aisle one." Yang said softly to Velvet, "If that's what you were looking for." 

Silly infatuation. 

This  _ silly infatuation  _ that had stretched out for over a year without any sort of hope and finally, a long-awaited afternoon at  Noola's , with Blake asking  ** her  ** out on a date. Yang had thought that maybe her luck was finally changing, that maybe something good was finally happening to her. 

But it must have all been just a trick of the mind because, as of right now, that afternoon seemed like an improbability. Maybe, the reality was, the girl of her dreams had stopped by her workplace to return her jacket as thanks. Nothing more. Maybe, the reality was, Blake had left the counter to walk about the store  **_ avoiding  _ ** Yang as she waited for Velvet to come out of the backroom. 

Maybe, the reality was, the girl of her dreams was just that  — a dream  — and she walked right into Yang's hopes and dreams only to give back the jacket that Yang had thrown off the balcony as thank you. 

Maybe it was just time to stop hoping and dreaming because those seemed to be reserved for children and Yang Xiao Long was an adult now. She had to act like it. 

"Thanks, Yang." Velvet returned her smile before she jogged over to Blake's side, linking their arms together as they walked away. 

And this is the part that Yang knew her heart was broken. Maybe long before this moment. 

She turned the shopping cart to the other direction, making her way to the desert aisle where Ruby's cream cheese brownies would most obviously be, piled obnoxiously high enough to convince passersby that those disgusting things tasted like heaven. 

They didn't, but of course, Ruby would fight you for it. 

But maybe hearts didn't really break, contrary to popular belief. They just, sort of, hurt and cut deep and you spend hours and hours and maybe even a lifetime praying for the pain to go away. 

Ruby wordlessly followed behind her, grumbling about Yang's friends' lurid thoughts and how it would have been easier if Yang had notified everyone that she wasn't an only child. She would stop her grumbling in a few minutes. Ruby had always been very forgiving, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt her. 

Yang knew and she desperately wanted to make it up to her. 

Yang pushed the cart right into the desert aisle and handed Ruby the small package of the cream cheese brownie. Ruby eyed her with curiosity and wariness before she gently took the package from her sister's hand. 

To Yang's surprise, Ruby had put the package back on the shelf, about to protest and explain that Ruby can have it, until the little girl pulled out the sizably bigger metal container of her newfound favorite desert snack. 

"Maybe you should just try one more." Ruby gently placed the metal container at the very top of their meager grocery pile, a nervous grin on her face, "I used to hate broccoli, but  **_ somebody  _ ** kept sneaking them in and they  kinda grew on me." 

Yang shook her head, a tired smile on her own lips, "Let's go get some chicken nuggets, paper towels, laundry detergent and some bread. You didn't drink all the milk, did you?" 

"No." Ruby walked ahead, "But yeah, there's only a little bit left." 

Yang turned the cart around, headed towards the frozen food section again while Ruby jogged to her side, head turning to look at each passing aisle instead of reading the signs that hung overhead. 

"We need mustard too." Ruby suggested. 

Yang sighed, "We need mustard." 

"And honey?" 

"That too." Yang laughed, reaching out to pat Ruby's head, a little surprised that the girl now reached her shoulder. 

She bit her tongue as Ruby pouted at her in return, the awful reminder that Yang was still much taller than her little sister infuriated her, no doubt. With one last pat, Yang mussed up her hair and hurried away, knowing Ruby would try to jump on her back just to get back at her. 

When the cart was almost full and they had gotten everything that t hey needed  — and a few more that Ruby deemed necessary  — they both made their way to the checkout counter, spotting Blake and Velvet, speaking in hushed tones and carrying a gift basket that must have taken them a long time to pick out. 

Ruby groaned the moment the two other girls looked in their direction. Yang knew why. She must have been tired of the way people had mistaken her as someone other than Yang's sister, angry that they automatically think of her as Yang's romantic interest. 

**_ Eww _ ** **_. Gross. Fucking pervs.  _ **

Yang truly had no one to blame but herself,  **_ but really? _ **

Yang gave Velvet and Blake a small, nervous wave as she herded Ruby towards a counter a little far away from them. 

_ Blake.  _

Yang's heart may not be broken, as she had already tried to explain to herself, but it did hurt, it stung, it festered, it burned deep into her core. To make matters worse, what the hell took them both so long to choose a gift basket anyway? Yang had expected them to be well out of the grocery store the minute she and Ruby were finished with their errand. 

Blake did not like her. 

That was the bitter and hard pill to swallow, but it had been evident long before she had even plucked up the courage to ask her to dinner. Blake had only been kind to her because it was stupid to make enemies out of anyone in your class. 

Blake would never return Yang's feelings. Velvet had warned her, yet she didn't listen. Without second-guessing, she had gotten Blake flowers  — gaudy and pretentious, in hindsight  — and asked her out, only to be shot down with the boyfriend excuse. 

Yang had no one to blame but herself with that one too. 

The girl of her dreams should just stay  _ in her dreams, _ **** to be forgotten when she woke up to a fresh start the next morning. 

"Hi." 

Yang turned around, leaving Ruby to walk to the counter without her. Blake Belladonna stood before her like she did the afternoon that Yang had imagined, when Blake had asked her out for a date that should have been tomorrow. Was it a dream? A nightmare? Nope. 

A lie. 

A lie that she told herself. 

"I'm sorry about earlier." Blake sighed, eyes glued to the floor, "Today's not a good day and I shouldn't have taken it out on you and... your  sist — "

"Sister, yeah." Yang laughed nervously, cautiously. Completely and irrevocably aware that her cheeks were burning and of how close she and Blake stood. 

Yang's heart began to swell, the burning had slowed to a steady flame and Yang's mind wanted to douse it with cold water. Because this shouldn't be happening  **_ now.  _ ** She had just wrestled with her imagination and accepted that her mind did wander to far-fetched places. 

_ Die, hope, die.  _

"Oh, I know about bad days." Yang measured her words carefully, turning away from Blake, taking half a step back, "I've been having a terrible month." 

When Blake's head shot up, Yang could only mirror her out of her own surprise. They stared at each other for a moment, mouth agape and the glint of realization and remorse flickering in Blake's sad amber eyes. 

"I am so sorry, Yang." Blake whispered, tearing her eyes away to look at Ruby who had been scratching her wrists, "I really am. Shit. I should have  — I am sorry." 

Yang was silent, watching the panic in Blake's eyes and the way she twitched and fidgeted where she stood. She looked to her left, at a shelf of shampoo and conditioner instead, trying to figure out what the best response would be. 

"Thank you for your sympathy." Ruby said quickly after she had cleared her throat. 

Yang hadn't heard Ruby say that in  a while . It had always been her who responded to sympathies from everyone around. Yang just smiled and walked away from the conversation, if only to mask the fact that she didn't know the proper response and besides, people handled grief in their own way. It just so happened, she barely felt it after Taiyang Xiao Long died. 

"Good afternoon, ma'am!" The cashier greeted them, waving for Yang and Ruby to dump all of their loot onto the till. 

Ruby pushed the cart herself, carefully placing each of their purchases on the till for the cashier to scan. Yang gave Blake a quick, awkward smile as a form of goodbye as she quickly turned to join her sister. The ache in her heart had practically rendered her speechless at this point. But what can one even say to someone you thought the world of, and who barely thought of you? 

**_ Die, hope, die! _ **

"Wait!" A hand wrapped around Yang's bicep, pulling her to look into sad amber eyes once more, "I..." 

Blake stuttered. 

Blake Belladonna stuttered. 

She blinked and cleared her throat.

Yang would say that she looked exactly like she always did  — immaculate  — and Yang was feeling poetic right now. Heartbreak does that to a person. And heartbreak tended to rip the rose-colored glasses out of the way, to reveal the gray and dreary reality. 

_ Beep... beep...  _

"I got this!" Velvet called out from her own checkout counter, raising the gift basket that she and Blake had been looking for the entire afternoon. 

"We..." Blake cleared her throat again, nodding to Velvet before she stared up at Yang with those sad, sad amber eyes, "We never talked about tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?" Yang blinked. 

Tomorrow? Their date. So that afternoon must not have been a dream. It sure didn't feel like a dream, but the last few hours have made it feel as if it were a moment that Yang dreamed up. 

"Yeah..." Blake tore her gaze away, settled for the discarded receipt beneath the checkout counter behind Yang, "I was thinking dinner?" 

_ Gret _ _ dinner.  _

**_ DIE, HOPE, DIE! _ **

"Tomorrow?" Yang repeated, as if saying the  word again would prompt the most elaborate explanation she needed to understand what the flipping flip was going on. 

Had she been dreaming? What was real and what was the product of her miserable imagination?

"Tomorrow." Blake tensed, "Tomorrow is Saturday. Our date? I asked you and you said yes." 

Alas, hope was the meanest enemy of all and Yang found herself winding her own senses in the fingers of disappointment. The fire in her chest had returned, had warmed her body and tinged her cheeks. 

This was real. 

She had been waiting  an _ entire  _ **_ year _ ** for this. 

Yang felt dumb. Of course, Blake had asked her out that afternoon. Of course, she had said  yes  — because, why  wouldn't she?  — Of course, Yang was letting her imagination get the best of her and now she was letting her self-doubt do the same. 

In the corner of her eye, Blake was staring at her, waiting for her to say something. Yang noticed the early traces of disappointment and hurt in the way she squinted, licked her lips and clenched her fists. 

"Dude." Ruby groaned from the checkout counter. 

"Not now, Rubes." Yang laughed nervously. 

Blake was staring at her expectantly and why does she have to look so immaculate right now? Why did she have to wear that stupid red flannel shirt? Why did she have such very nice cheekbones? 

"Please tell me you didn't forget." Blake said flatly. 

"I didn't forget." Yang cleared her throat, "Sorry. I've just been distracted lately. There's just so much going on all at once." 

Blake shook her head and stared off into the distance, a half-smile forming on her face that quickly faded, "I know what you mean." 

Yang watched the disappointment slowly melt away from her face, replaced by the most sorrowful expression Yang had ever seen. She furrowed her brow and recalled that she had never seen Blake display any emotion apart from contentment or slight irritation. 

This was new. This was different. 

Blake was different. 

"Yang?" Ruby called her. 

"H-hold on!" Yang responded, barely even looking at her sister before she returned her attention back to Blake, hands fidgeting beneath the sleeves that fell past the girl's wrists, "How...  Wh — I don't have your number." 

Blake stared up at Yang and it was strange to know that she was a little bit shorter than Yang. It was strange to know that this was probably the closest they've ever been. Yang would go so far as to say that this was the first time that she had ever looked into Blake's amber eyes and it felt like staring right at the sun, like fire swirling and dancing, like warm afternoons.

Like the flowers she had given her. 

"Oh, I don't have yours either." Blake held her hand out and waited for Yang to hand her  her Scroll. 

Yang bit her lip to keep herself from smiling like an idiot. She watched Blake laugh at her wallpaper  — that she should have changed, but baby goats in sweaters are cute  — watched her type in her number. Yang was in a trance and she was losing the battle of keeping her cool until she heard a soft chirping. 

Yang straightened herself and looked around, trying to find where that sound was coming from. When the chirping sound disappeared, Blake gave Yang her Scroll back, fingers lightly brushing until she quickly pulled away to reach into her  back pocket . 

"I called myself so I can get your number." Blake held her Scroll up, displaying the missed call notification on her screen. 

There was the feeling of having the number of the girl of your dreams in your Scroll, stored safely in your contact s list for you to gush over when you were alone in your bedroom, late at night. But there was that feeling of sheer delight in seeing your own number in  **_ their  _ ** contact list and the knowledge that they were going to respond. 

Or maybe they would even call you first. 

"Yang!" Ruby called louder. 

"You could have asked me for her number." Velvet stood in between them, holding the gift basket up, "Anyway, Yang, I think you're ready to pay." 

Yang turned on her h ee l, catching clumps of her hair in her mouth to see Ruby tapping her foot at her, arms folded over her chest while one finger pointed to the checkout counter. Yang jogged towards Ruby's side, catching clumps of her own hair in her mouth in her haste. She brandished her wallet and apologized to the pissed off cashier and the other people waiting for her to finish exchanging numbers with Blake. 

"I'll call you." Blake called after her. 

Yang turned to watch the two girls vacate the store, letting Ruby grab her wallet from her to finish paying for their purchases. 

"See  ya , Yang!" Velvet smiled, handing a piece of paper over to Blake as they neared the doors. 

Yang pocketed her Scroll and apologized to Ruby for the delay. She caught Ruby rolling her eyes at her as she shoved her wallet back to her. On any other day, Yang would have been upset or hurt or angry, but she couldn't help but feel so  _ elated.  _

Blake said she was going to call her. 

Ruby only groaned at her, "Please carry all the bags. That's what you get for thinking I have to pay for all of these. I don't have any money on me, Yang." 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yang repeated as she gathered all three paper bags into her arms. 

They walked out to the parking area in considerable silence. Yang smiled to herself, clutching the paper bags close to her to keep them from falling. Ruby was reaching into her  **_ one  _ ** paper bag and Yang knew exactly which one she had picked. 

"You seriously can't wait until we get home?" Yang groaned, watching Ruby crack her stupid cream cheese brownie tin open. 

The parking lot was a little bit packed. Friday afternoons weren't exactly the best times to shop for food supplies, especially if you preferred parking near the entrance or be done with the entire shopping experience in under twenty minutes. 

Yang's yellow hatchback was parked far, far,  _ far  _ away, right next to the main entrance actually. The walk might be long, but at least they could drive out of here as soon as possible. Still, it wasn't exactly a win since  Ruby had no intention of lending her a hand anytime soon. 

Unconsciously, Yang scanned the parking lot for any sign of Blake and velvet, but the only other living person Yang could see was Ruby, insisting that Yang should try one brownie this very instant. 

"No." Yang made a face before she blew on Ruby's face to get her to keep her distance, "Stop forcing me to eat that thing. It's gross. Why do you even like that stuff?" 

"Umm?" Ruby rolled her eyes while she swallowed the bite in her mouth, "It's a brownie? Seriously, Yang, you have no taste at all." 

"You're the one eating a brownie that tastes like expired milk!" Yang bumped her hip to Ruby's stomach, giggling as the girl almost toppled over and flashed her a murderous gaze. 

"Careful, I know where you sleep." Ruby threatened. 

"I know where you keep your magazine collection!" Yang fired back, laughing as she quickened her pace and laughed as loud as she could. The parking lot was empty anyway and she had socially killed herself three times in the last thirty minutes. 

Wh y worry?

Yang was having fun. 

"Rubes, wait." Yang jutted her hip out and wiggling about, inviting Ruby to reach into her pocket and grab the car keys. 

Ruby looked at her for a moment then stared down at her hips. Fortunately for Yang, Ruby didn't need to be told a second time. She slowly approached her older sister and shoved her hand into her pocket, pulling the keys out and went straight to the trunk. Yang waited for Ruby to open the door for her, gently sliding the paper bags into place. 

As soon as they both closed the trunk, Ruby tossed Yang the keys and waited for Yang to unlock the car. Before Yang could even insert the key into the driver's door, Ruby tapped the top of the hatchback, calling for her sister to pay attention to her. 

"Hey, so funny thought." Ruby shrugged.

"Yeah?" Yang finished successfully unlocked the doors and pulled hers open. 

"Your girlfriend looks like a cat." 

Yang felt the heat rising to her cheeks. Without a word, she quickly slipped into the driver's seat and secured her seatbelt into place in one swift motion. Ruby had only managed to slip into her own seat when Yang started the old girl up. 

"She's not my girlfriend." Yang said matter-of-factly, hoping her face didn't betray her, "And some people look like horses. Big deal. You look like a monkey." 

Ruby huffed as her seatbelt clicked into place, " ** You  ** look like a horse." 

Yang walked right into that one. 

"I..." Yang pressed a hand against her chest while her other hand gripped the steering wheel, "am a puppy! Deal with it." 

Yang cackled as she maneuvered the car out of their parking space. Ruby just groaned and thumped her head against the window. 

That felt like the high-five that life had owed her for quite some time now. 

Her date tomorrow was real. It wasn't just a dream. Blake's number was in her Scroll and her number was in Blake's. That afternoon at  Noola's was real and this whole afternoon wasn't even half of a stinking nightmare. This was all real. It was really happening tomorrow. 

Yang had been waiting for a day quite like this for what seemed like her entire life. 

But why didn't it feel right? 


	15. Never Be the Same

"Umm? It's a brownie? Seriously, Yang, you have no taste at all." 

Ruby. 

That was her name. Yang's little sister that seemed to have just popped out of nowhere. She had asked Velvet about her but  apparently, she didn't even know Yang had any siblings, let alone one that didn't look anything like her. This Ruby girl looked like she was twelve, given her height and the way she devoured that brownie with gusto was reminiscent of a child. 

She was short, skinny, mousy and overly enthusiastic  — when she wasn't in a foul mood. Whereas Yang was tall, blonde, shapely, well-built. Attractive. 

_ And no one needs to hear that out loud.  _

Blake Belladonna shook her head, staring straight into the parking lot that echoed the mischievous laugh of Yang. Velvet was still fussing over the gift basket that they had secured in the backseat, tucking it safely between the seats so it wouldn't fall over during their drive. 

"They look nothing alike." Blake said mostly to herself, but Velvet had caught her words and left the gift basket alone to shoot Yang and her  _ sister,  _ Ruby, a look, "She said that girl is her sister." 

"Well, they do understand each other." Velvet giggled as the two of  them w atched Ruby stick her hand down Yang's pocket. 

"But they look nothing alike." 

Blake tried not to think out loud anymore. Not when Velvet had turned to her, no doubt, with a smirk on her face. 

What did it matter that Yang had a sister named Ruby who looked nothing like her and who had appeared out of nowhere without warning? What did it matter that Yang seemed as if she had forgotten about their date tomorrow? What did it matter if Blake had been  **_ this  _ ** close to being stood up tomorrow? 

She and Velvet watched as Yang's  car  sputtered out of the parking lot, thankfully heading towards the opposite direction of where Blake intended to go to. 

She hadn't meant to be so mean to Yang earlier. She was just caught off-guard, still jittery from Adam's visit and about to do something potentially dangerous. But that little girl and her closeness to Yang had completely derailed her. 

Maybe Blake needed to do something about her bitchy attitude. Whatever karat of gold her heart was shouldn't excuse her behavior. 

"Yang did tell me that her parents had  separated when she was little." Velvet offered, casting Blake a sideways glance, "Maybe her dad remarried and they had another child." 

"Maybe." Blake muttered to herself. 

It didn't matter. Blake kept telling herself, long before the yellow car had disappeared into traffic. It just didn't matter. 

The question rolled in the pit of her stomach, right where Blake had pushed it to. It didn't deserve the sound of her voice or a moment of Velvet's thoughts. No, it was madness. It was stupid and naïve. It was hypocritical. 

It  ** shouldn't  ** matter. 

Yang had explained and Blake had known about her father's passing. Surely, Yang wouldn't lie about that. Yang would never lie and Blake should be a little bit more sensitive. 

But why did it matter now? 

Blake had other things to worry about. She had assholes lurking outside of her apartment and a year's worth of paranoia to sort through. She was on a mission to free herself. What did it matter that she  had just  thought Yang was seeing someone else? 

The question stirred within Blake again. No, she wasn't allowed to ask that. She had no right to expect  _ some  _ form of transparency from the girl who had put her heart on the line last year and asked Blake out, the girl who Blake had clearly and flat-out  ** lied to ** because the truth felt like something she didn't want to explain. 

Yang had never seemed like a bad person and Velvet attested to her pure goodness. There was really no reason for her to  be one now. 

Blake exhaled loudly, sinking into her seat as she pulled her Scroll from her pocket and up to her face. Maybe Yang with the wild hair and  _ that  _ body... like...  ** that body ** ... damned hypocrite... Yang with the wild hair and that  _ height  _ would be related  — even by half — to that smaller, mousy girl. 

_ Why is this still even an argument? _

She pressed the contacts icon at the bottom right of her Scroll and waited as the list of names appeared in front of her. Coco. Fox. Mikaela — a classmate from last semester — Nora... Which Nora was this? Blake recalled hearing the name  _ Nora _ around Yang before. __ She gave Velvet a sideways glance, wondering if her friend had other friends she knew nothing about, wondering if maybe she had Yang's friends' numbers. 

Because Yang and Velvet were friends. Work friends. And even before this Yang Xiao Long business began with  _ gret _ _ dinner,  _ Velvet had informed her that the blonde Blake sat next to in Gender Studies was a co-worker and that she was nice and sweet. Even after Blake had  **_ lied  _ ** to this nice blonde to get her to stop pursuing her, Velvet continued singing her praises, that she was nice and sweet and warm and goofy and a  _ big sweetheart  _ and once slow danced with a cat. 

Blake deleted Nora-Whoever-She-Was from her list of contacts. She didn't even remember putting that number into her Scroll, so it must have been a one-time thing that resolved itself. She kept scrolling, but it was just one flick of her thumb, until she reached the very bottom where  Yatsuhashi's name was — right beneath a  brand-new name that wasn't all too new in Blake's mind at all. 

Yang Xiao Long. 

The question rolled around like a hurricane in her stomach and burned through her lungs. 

_ Why did Yang  _ _ keep _ _ secrets?  _

She really had no right to ask that question, not even to herself. She felt dirty all of a sudden, she felt like the enemy — her own enemy. Yang didn't owe her a single thing, not even pieces of herself that Blake would have wanted to know in advance. 

Blake scrolled a little bit upwards, moving past Yang's and Velvet's numbers and pressed a little too forcefully. She placed the device to her cheek, waiting as it kept ringing and ringing. After a couple of rings, Blake heard a gruff voice over the line that greeted her with an annoyed, "Yeah?" 

Blake blinked. She pulled her Scroll to look at the display to confirm if she had indeed called the right number. She cleared her throat and pressed the device back to her ear, "It's Blake. Sun, is everything alright?" 

"Oh, sorry." He spoke a second later, the sound of shuffling could be heard in the back, followed by an angry shout, "Something's up at the House. Everyone's mad and I guess I'm a little mad too. Uh... Sorry I took it out on you." 

Blake bit her tongue. 

She really had no interest in whatever was happening in the Lambda Fraternity House, if she was being completely honest. They were all bullies, thugs and privileged jerks. 

But Sun wasn't like them. Sun  Wukong was a legitimately nice guy, a diamond in the rough. But he can sure act like the rest of his fraternity brothers sometimes and Blake was beginning to worry if Sun would turn into an asshole one of these days. 

She knew he had only joined the fraternity because of the scholarship and after Neptune had invited him. Chi Rho Delta Lambda provided scholarships, tuition discounts, room and board, monthly allowances and the words  _ "priority"  _ or  _ "important"  _ next to your name after you graduate. Once a Lambda, always a Lambda. 

Lambs of God, as they once called themselves. Well, they still do during charity events, fundraisers and publicity events. 

They were more like spawns of Satan. These days, anyway. Chi Rho Delta Lambda did use to be a beacon of hope with legitimate charity work and unbelievable donations to the school. Every decent guy wanted to be a part of the Lambda fraternity and every girl dating a Lambda brother was lucky. 

Funny how it seemed as if Adam Taurus' induction as Chancellor set their reputation back to "Dregs of Society". 

" Yo , Blake, you there?" Blake heard a door shut on the other line. 

"I need a favor." She gripped her steering wheel tight, looking over towards Velvet, who just turned to look out the window. 

"Oh, okay." Sun said, " What'chu need?"

Blake winced, "Where are you? I'll pick you up and explain on the way." 

"Now?" Sun's voice rose. 

"Yes." Blake supplied. What was the point of asking to meet him if she was going to tell him everything anyway? 

"Can it wait?" He murmured, "Blake, something's going down here. It's almost like a zoo here with really violent animals.  Jaune's go—" 

"Please, Sun." Blake begged, "This is important." 

Despite the distant chatter over the line, of what sounds to be like a dozen young men screaming and lashing out at each other, of thuds and thumps that formed a beat, Sun was silent and Blake could feel it. 

His response came in a harsh and steady breath that almost scared her, "This is important too, Blake." 

Of course, he was mad. He had told her a moment ago that he was already mad at something else, that something was happening in the Lambda House, a fight and it had something to do with his new friend that Blake had met outside of  Noola's . So really, Blake knew something was wrong. 

She also knew that she couldn't do this without Sun. 

"I know it is, Sun." Blake fumbled with the steering wheel, feeling the rough texture beneath her fingertips, "I'm not saying it's not. I  — I just need to see you and  th — "

"If this is about your date tomorrow, I'm not going to be a part of your lies anymore." Sun whispered, but it felt as if he were shouting in her ear, right into her guilty one, "Yang deserves better, Blake. I know you've got some really shady stuff happening and all that, but  _ you've  _ been a real dick to her too. You tell her you don't like her, you treat her like a second-class person and then you play these stupid  _ mind games _ and you lie, Blake. You lie. She doesn't deserve your  — your  — your not being able to tell the truth!" 

_ Lies. _

"Get off your high horse." Sun continued, "You want her to stop pestering you with her emotions, but you're the one doing all the pestering. You're the one who couldn't stay away from her, Blake, even after you lied to her."

_ Lies.  _

"I'm not your boyfriend. You didn't need to lie to her about that. She would have gotten the message. Who the hell do you think you are? And now, like a big sick finale, you ask her out on a date?  Nope. Nope. No.  I am done, Blake. Thanks for calling me and the boys out on being disrespectful to her. I hope you know you're doing the same." 

Her voice caught in her throat. Sun wasn't wrong, but she definitely hadn't thought about it that way. And Blake would have thought about it more, would reflect on all of these truths that she decided she didn't want to see, but this wasn't even about tomorrow's date, this wasn't about how she lied to Yang about having a boyfriend, about how close she was to losing someone she'd never even had  — and that was her own  _ fucking  _ fault. 

Oh right, Blake. Lies, lies, lies, lies. She was choking on them. 

She turned to Velvet who was leaning close to her with those expectant eyes, waiting for a response and ready to spring into action, into the danger Blake was leading her to. She must have had other plans today. She must have had other important things to do that didn't get her tangled up in Blake's lies. Velvet had secrets too, Blake was aware of them, but they were good secrets, happy ones that she seemed to be content with. 

But Blake couldn't do this alone. She needed Sun's help. He was the only one she could trust, the only one who understood, who  _ knew.  _ So, yeah, this really wasn't about  tomorrow's date. This was about the dates that would follow after  — she hoped there would be more. This was  ** why  ** she lied to Yang about her imaginary boyfriend. This was to clear the smoke and fog between her and this was for her to have a good secret for herself. 

This was between Blake and Adam and Cinder. 

Sun sighed and whispered into the receiver, "I  gotta g — "

"Tell me where Cinder lives." Blake said softly as her shattered nerves would allow. 

She was never going to be happy. Not while Adam shadowed her every movement, not while he  poisoned her very thoughts. He stood between her and a chance at happiness. He had stood outside of her apartment, for heaven's sake. This was never going to go away and Yang... 

She smelled like pine trees in winter mornings, warm fires and lavender shampoo. Good things. Wonderful things. 

And her eyes. 

_ This can't be it.  _

"I know you know where she lives." Blake breathed into her Scroll, almost impatient.

The roaring voices outside grew in volume and Blake could tell that Sun was doing his best to keep his distance from the noise and the chaos. 

"Blake, don’t." Sun groaned and Blake bit her tongue to keep herself from launching a tirade against him, "Why would you even  — That's only going to cause more problems, Blake. First of all, she hates your guts." 

Blake sighed, "I know." 

"Did you forget that  she  kidnapped you?" 

Blake sank deeper into her seat. If only her leather upholstery could swallow her now. A lot of people seem to hate Blake. It was safer to count the people who didn't want to spit on her face. They were all in her contact's list, minus Yang, and probably Sun. 

She wasn't sure about Mikaela, but she recalls being a little nice to her last year. 

"Address, Sun." Blake said through gritted teeth, "I can go there without you." 

_ This really can't be it. Not if I can help it.  _

"Are you kidding me, Blake?" Sun fired back and Blake winced at the sudden increase in volume, "What do you think the rest of the Lambda fraternity is doing? Cardin and Sky? They're  _ watching  _ her, Blake, making sure she doesn't talk." 

"This can't be it." 

Blake could feel everything all at once, all her disappointment, her regrets, her heartaches, even that tiny sliver of something  g ood that reared its head from time to time, all because of some lopsided smile. 

Velvet stretched her hand out to her, gently  grasping her shoulder before letting her go again. Velvet always knew. Velvet understood her many, many moods. Blake Belladonna was a ticking time bomb, afraid to trap others in the vicinity of her self-destruction. 

Blake cleared her throat and demanded herself to be calm. This can't be it. "I can't give up now, Sun. If I don't do this  — no, if  _ she  _ and I don't do this, he wins. Adam wins and all of the assholes like him." 

"You can't trust her, Blake." Sun argued, "You can't trust anyone. This is dangerous." 

Blake sighed, "I'm not giving up, Sun. I know this is dangerous. I know I can't trust her. I know I've been a complete asshole to you, and to my own friends and to Yang, but I want to _ not be _ an asshole anymore. I have to set things right." 

"Making things right doesn't always have to be a suicide mission." Sun barked out. 

Blake turned to Velvet beside her, quiet and determined, fury and concern dripping from her pores and burning holes into Blake's conscience. She  shared the same thoughts as Sun. 

But where was the difference? 

Leaving it all alone already felt like she had ended her own life, shut people out and allowed for doubts and misery to settle into her bones, of haunting her home. Blake wanted to build relationships. Blake wanted to build a life, a good one that didn't feel so pointless and lonely. 

"Third street," Sun's voice sounded tired, "Lander and Kensington. Blue door. She's got a flower-painted mailbox." 

"Thank you, Sun." Blake released the breath she had been holding, relief washing over the myriads of emotions that flooded her insides. 

"One last time, Blake." Sun laughed wryly over  the line, a knowing tone in his voice, "Please don't do this." 

Blake straightened herself and jammed her key into the ignition, deftly starting her car with one hand as the other one pressed her Scroll into her ear, "I really am sorry, Sun. I should ha — Thank you. For everything. I mean it." 

"I'm sorry too, Blake, but please just try to understand. I feel like I'm  _ needed  _ here." 

"No, no, I get it, Sun." Blake smiled at Velvet, who only stared at her with open confusion, "We're always where we need to be. Well, at least you are." 

"At least I'm sure there aren't any brothers there." Blake could hear the sound of a door opening and the screaming and shouting got louder, "Everyone's here. Cardin's in the kitchen." 

"Again," Blake set her car to drive, ready to end the call in an instant, "than k you, Sun. I owe you everything." 

"What can I say?" Sun laughed dryly, "I got you." 

Blake smiled as she ended the call, feeling the comfort of his words settle into her shoulders as she drove out of the parking lot. The gift basket was safely tucked in the backseat and Velvet was quietly nibbling at her fingernails beside her. 

Velvet knew what was happening. 

She wasn't the type of person to sit idly by when her friend was driving to the outskirts of Vale, headfirst into danger, right onto the doorstep of a crazy woman who she recently found out had abducted  Blake a little over a year ago. Velvet knew how harrowing it had been for Blake, how her snarky friend had grown distant and quieter, more irritable and difficult to be around, but Velvet  Scarlatina had stuck by her through it all, even when she was in the dark. 

Blake, for her part, had seen every single person around her morph into doting creatures. The banter, teasing and jokes had remained, yes, but they were different, in a sense. Blake observed the changes in her friends, noted the minute changes in their speech patterns, how lenient they were in her excuses and how compliant they had been with all her secrets and lies. Their intentions were good, but hell has gates far pearlier than heaven. 

So it was odd that Velvet didn't protest this time around. 

The further they drove North, out of the city, the less they saw of imposing buildings and shiny cars speeding past. It  would be a fifteen-minute drive across highways, cutting through endless fields of grass and closed-off lots. 

Fifteen minutes of silence, loaded with trepidation and the cry for help that was lodged in Velvet's throat. 

Blake stopped at probably the last red light she would see in a while, taking this as an opportunity to plug her Scroll into her car stereo, putting on the song that she had said she never wanted to hear inside her vehicle.

The moment the first notes played through her speakers, Blake regretted breaking her own rule. Merciful heavens, the song was candy in sound form, like  syrup  — **_ the bad kind _ ** ; the bass thumping in her ears and that rap? 2011 music seemed so foreign now. 

Blake was sure that Velvet didn't much like this song. They were more alike than they would ever admit. But she hoped that her putting this particular song on would ease the atmosphere a little bit and if putting herself through this misery was enough to make Velvet smile, then Blake was more than willing to soldier on. 

True enough, Velvet clapped her hand over her mouth, gaping at Blake with the most comical expression of confusion she had ever seen. 

"The ban has been lifted." Blake smirked as she stepped on the accelerator the moment the light turned green. 

"Yeah, but..." Velvet mumbled, sinking back into her seat, "We both know Coco's the only one who likes this song, but not that much. She just went to the trouble of memorizing the entire thing and seeing if we — " 

" — could rap as well as she can." Blake laughed, shaking her head at the absurdity of the memory. 

_...running away... static... can you hear... static...  _

"Well, that solves the mystery of why you even have that song on your Scroll." Velvet giggled for a quick second before she quieted down. Apparently, the song wasn't strong enough to ease the tension for longer than a  moment . 

The music came to an abrupt stop and Blake sighed at the loss of her last cell signal. High-speed data was useless without it anyway. She switched to the music app on her Scroll and pressed shuffle, relaxing at the beginning of a soft melody that she had loved listening to on mellow Friday nights in her now-tainted apartment, staring at the ceiling and feeling the world crawl past her. 

This was a love song, Blake thought. She had always known it was a love song, but this time, she felt it in her bones, like how courage slowly pumped through her veins. It was a fitting song then  — an anthem as she charged into battle. She could hear the war drums echoing in the horizon, syncing to the hammering in her heart, heading to retrieve the kiss that had been stolen from her. 

She blinked back the thoughts of the kiss-thief and found her mind settling into thoughts of Yang instead. She wanted to push the thoughts away, but the sight of her squirming and sputtering like a fish out of water was endearing. 

Blake sighed. Yang's discomfort shouldn't be endearing to her. Sun was right about her. She was a hypocrite, a liar and maybe she really didn't deserve Yang's affections. But the memory of early this afternoon ticked Blake off a little bit for some reason. The thought of sitting at some restaurant and waiting for nobody to show up seemed like a nightmare in a different world, in a different time. 

She thought of what Velvet said to her instead, how her friend had casually said it right before Blake had found Adam standing in front of her apartment door  — that Blake was  ** secretly  ** in love with Yang for the last three-hundred and sixty-five days. 

Was that even possible? 

To feel something and not know about it? Maybe, but not for Blake. She always knew how she felt and this drumming in her heart was more her desire to be able to  _ have  _ Yang Xiao Long be an option for her attention than actually having the girl. 

Because Yang kept secrets and Blake  couldn't ' find a reason why she should. 

_ Damn hypocrite.  _

Damn her eyes and her nervous smile and the kiss that shouldn't be long to somebody particular but felt wrong on someone else's lips. Damn her relaxing scent and this stupid yearning to be close to her, to hear her heart beating and wonder how warm her embrace would be. 

_ No. Think of something else! _

Honestly, the sooner she would deal with this Adam business, the sooner she can sit down and deal with the Yang Xiao Long one because Blake was not in love with her. She liked her, yes, but love? As of now, Yang seemed like a much better version of Adam because the two of them seemed to be correlated for some odd reason. It must be their attraction towards her, the way that they crashed into her orbit, hoping to lay claim to her affections. 

Then Blake thought of that night, at the Lambda House, hunkered in the darkness with only silhouettes, Yang's hopeless whispers and the lovemaking in the other room for company... Yang had been... Blake had no word for what she had thought of Yang then, but she wasn't annoyed at the fact that the two of them had found themselves within close proximity of each other. In fact, Blake felt comfortable in that awkward situation. 

Safe, even. 

"Do you like her?" Velvet pressed her temple against the window, staring out at the street signs and greens that they passed, "Yang. Do you like her?" 

Blake chewed the inside of her lip and then shrugged, " I guess so." 

Velvet stared up at her with a mischievous smile, like a little girl at bed time, sneaking a conversation to stay up a little bit longer, "I  **_ knew  _ ** you liked her. You couldn't resist the call of true love, could you? Angels singing hallelujah and all that?" 

Blake scoffed, "Love?"

She did not  **_ love  _ ** Yang Xiao Long. 

"No, you've got it all wrong." Blake said more to herself than to Velvet. 

She did not love Yang. No, really. She  ** liked  ** her. That was it. She wasn't sure that she wanted to pursue a relationship with the girl. Yes, she wanted to kiss her, but kisses were different from love. She barely knew the girl. Didn't she and Velvet  ** just  ** find out that Yang had a long-lost sister? 

That d idn 't seem like a good foundation for  _ love. _

Velvet's smile had disappeared as she sighed and stared back out the window, "Yeah, sorry, but wouldn't that be something, huh?" 

"Yeah." Blake chuckled, relieved that Velvet wasn't insisting on her theory, "Weird." 

The two of them fell into an uncomfortable silence, interrupted only by the hammering in Blake's chest, the sporadic sounds of Velvet's nail-biting, and the beginning of an 80s rock ballad that she loved on any other day today. Still, Blake couldn't find it in her to press  _ Next. _ ** This  ** was also a war song. 

Blake thought of the night she had woken up in the hospital emergency room, vaguely recalling the smell of dirt and gasoline from her encounter with Adam's crazy girlfriend and how strong arms had wrapped around her shoulders. 

Sun had always been very thoughtful and protective of her from that point onwards. Initially, it scared her that her savior was a new member of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity, but he promised he meant her no harm and he had offered to take her back to her apartment the following day when the hospital would discharge her. 

It was only a few days after she left the hospital with bruises and cuts that she learned that Cinder had just woken up as well, crying and screaming in the hospital bed, demanding to see Adam and asking what had happened to  _ a slut named Blake.  _

Blake expected for the fight to continue, for Cinder to send more mindless thugs to kidnap her or hurt her; she expected Adam to make good on his threats and do everything in his power to get Blake to date him, but nothing came. Cinder had fallen off the face of the planet, rumored to have run away to some rehabilitation facility and Adam had only smiled at on the rare occasion that they would see each other. 

She slept with one eye open for months, waited for shadows to move in the corner of the darkness, constantly looking over her shoulder for evil and for a threat that had never come. 

Then she thought that was it. 

Blake thanked her lucky stars that that was the worst of it, that Adam had silently deemed her unworthy of anymore of his a ttention — until this afternoon. 

She had been wrong to trust that Adam would forget her. She had been stupid enough to walk through  Noola's Pet Wares and Groomer's front door, approach the counter and asked Yang out. Not only did she repaint the target on her back, but she painted one on Yang's as well. 

Blake cleared her throat and straightened herself, glaring at the passing cars as if they had threatened her entire family. Had  Y ang always been the center of all of this? No, of course not. She was simply caught in the crossfire. This was between her and Adam and Cinde r  — who had forced herself into the equation and who had been kicked out by Adam. 

So, Blake had to get her back in because she needed Cinder's help. 

She tried to focus on the road, but her mind kept coming back to the way Adam had forced himself on her that afternoon, the way he had pressed his lips on hers and it was so gentle and so soft and Blake wanted to rip her own lips off. Because Adam was not gentle, and he wasn't soft. He was cold and hard and brutal. 

Instead, Blake thought of the flowers that had lay dying on her kitchen counter when she returned home from the hospital. 

_ I was wondering if you'd like to  _ _ gret _ _... get dinner with me. _

Blake didn't like  flowers . They were, in her opinion, a nuisance. She wasn't one to tend to a  garden , she was adamant about this belief, but she recalled that she never threw the bouquet away. She left them on her kitchen counter, afraid to say that she had chucked them in the trash bin the moment she stepped through her front door, afraid to admit it to a girl who  had given them to her. 

She glanced at Velvet in the passenger's seat every chance she got. She and Yang have been working together at  Noola's for as long as Blake knew. They seemed to be very friendly with each other, covering  each other's shifts and sharing funny stories. Basically, the same things Velvet shared with Blake. And Velvet had never done anything to upset Blake. 

Now Blake wondered what kept her from being honest with the closest friend she's ever had? 

Blake cleared her throat, "Has she mentioned me?" 

Velvet slightly jumped at the suddenness of the question, blinking her confusion at Blake as she tilted her head to the side, "I beg your pardon?" 

"You and Yang?" Blake kept her eyes on the road, rubbing her palms up and down the steering wheel to stave off the frustration vibrating on the tips of her fingers, " You're friends, right?" 

"Yes?" Velvet exhaled, "Yeah, we're friends." 

"That's... umm... nice." Blake quickly said, her tongue suddenly too big for her mouth, "Ha— has Yang ever... you know, talked... about me?" 

Velvet was quiet for a moment. Blake was afraid to spare her a glance to see smiling that mischievous smile, forever a firm believer that there  _ was  _ something between her friend and her other friend-slash-co-worker. 

To her surprise, Velvet chuckled and softly said, "No, she hasn’t."

"Oh." 

Blake tried to swallow the disappointment. They had been working for, maybe, almost a year now and no, the girl who liked her and her own best friend had never talked about her. It suddenly felt like that moment in front of the checkout counters, that lingering feeling of impending heartache with the thought that Yang  **_ might  _ ** have missed their date tomorrow. 

"She smiled when I talked about you though." Velvet chuckled, settling back into her old position, staring out the window, "It was one time.  A couple of weeks after you turned her down and long b efore you asked her out." 

Blake felt a weight settle on her chest, "What did you say?" 

"I said I was sorry," Velvet sighed, "that she got shot down and you were the coolest person I know and that maybe she'll find someone else someday. Someone who could make her happy."

"Oh." 

_ Someone who could make her happy.  _

"I didn't want her to hate you." Velvet laughed nervously, running her fingers along the seatbelt across her chest, "But I didn't want her to keep hoping you'd rea— return her feelings." 

_ Someone who could make her happy.  _

"That's fair." Blake whispered. 

It would be fair, but it would hurt, Blake thought sourly, because there is the implication that she couldn't make Yang happy. Well, that was something that she could deal with, but the thought of Yang happy with someone else? Blake wondered why it had never occurred to her that that was a possibility? 

_ You play these stupid mind games and you lie.  _

So, it would really be fair. It would be quite alright. It would be okay. It wasn't as if Blake was hurrying to date Yang Xiao Long. 

But they were going on a date. Tomorrow night. Yang would remember. If she forgot, Blake could always call her. She said she would anyway. Her number was in her Scroll. This shouldn't even be a  _ fucking  _ problem. But why was everything moving so fast and in every single direction? 

Something was wrong. And it wasn't with Yang or her date tomorrow night or how, deep down, Blake prayed that she wouldn't have to sit there alone tomorrow night or that she kept secrets from practically everyone. 

Something was  wrong  with her self . 

Because Yang would share her secrets if she wanted, she would explain and say the things that have been going on in her life, spill her heartaches or paint her hopes and dreams and plans for the future. 

The problem was Blake  **_ might be _ ** a little bit in love with Yang and it scared her that she knew nothing about the girl she hadn't stopped thinking about for a year, the girl whose hand she wanted to hold, the girl who decided that Blake was worth the risk of rejection, the girl she knew nothing about. It scared her to be a little bit in love with a stranger. 

"I'm  kinda rooting for you two though." Velvet gave a tired laugh as she turned to check on the gift basket, "My two friends? Going on their first date tomorrow? That would be really sweet and I hope things would go alright." 

Blake stiffened at that. Velvet sensed it, casting her a worried look before straightening herself on the passenger's seat with mumbled apologies and forget-its. 

It would be bad though, to admit that she was the teensiest bit in love with the girl. A lot of the people around her didn't find a problem with Yang and it had been ages since Blake felt the want to ask anybody out on a date. She couldn't even remember when the last time was and who she had gone with. It mustn't have  been a pleasant date then, if she had forgotten so quickly. 

Still, the doubts plagued her mind, speeding through her mind as the car kept cruising on the highway. Blake was never one for feeling things and she had never been  _ expressive  _ of her affections and feelings. Most of all, she was scared of what people would say, scared of the teasing that followed and of being put on the hot seat. 

Because Blake knew who she was and the truth of Blake was that she was scared and angry and she would hide away from the truth and huff and puff until this discomfort and vulnerability would go away. She had been hurt before because the teasing seemed as if they were confirmation and Blake had no energy to hope. 

"How do you know if you want to have a relationship with someone?" Blake felt heat rise to her cheeks. 

Velvet was quiet for a moment. Blake felt the pounding in her chest and the nervousness wrapping itself around her throat. Not long ago, she had bared her soul to her friends, had been hinting at the heartaches that lay in her chest to Velvet and she had only gotten support. In fact, Velvet was playing the good sport, sitting by her side as she drove to who-knows-where? 

There really was no one else she could be  _ more honest  _ with than Velvet and why not start now? Slowly. But, for heaven's sake, she hadn't even thought about these things before. She just , sort of,  **_ felt  _ ** it. It was the feeling of falling, of waves crashing into shore, of war drums echoing in the distance, of something heading towards her that it both frightens and excites her. 

Coco had once said that love was like an addiction, something to yearn for, to dream about, to want so badly that breathing became a chore, that it gets hard to breathe and sleep at night with the thought of somebody. But back here, in her car, Velvet was still quiet, staring thoughtfully at the empty highway ahead of them. 

"I guess..." Velvet hummed, "I guess it's wanting what you and I have now, but you know,  ** more.  ** Like wanting to hug them and kiss them and make out and sex and stuff ." 

Blake flushed red and groaned at the way Velvet guffawed, "That doesn't help." 

"My fair lady, no one can tell you what you should feel." Velvet almost choked, "You just  _ feel  _ it." 

"Still not helping." Blake muttered. 

She straightened herself the moment she had seen a cluster of buildings and a faded sign that read  _ Kensington _ . They were here. Third street, Lander and Kensington, the house with the blue door and a flower-painted mailbox. 

It shouldn't be that hard. Every single door in this small town was either cream or vomit-brown. Forget about the damn mailboxes. 

"Are we here?" Velvet finally caught on, sitting on high alert as her eyes darted left and right, "Already?" 

"Yeah." Blake sighed, "Can you help me find a blue door and a flower mailbox?" 

All thoughts of Yang aside, Blake and Velvet set to work finding the landmarks that Sun had given them, but after driving around third street for what seemed like half-an-hour, Blake came to the conclusion that Sun must have lied to her. 

There weren't any blue doors or flower-painted mailboxes in sight. She drove back to the faded sign, made sure that it really was Kensington painted there and they drove around the block for a few more minutes, a couple more times until Blake felt the impatience stirring in her head. She drove back to the Kensington sign and tried calling Sun, but his Scroll was unattended. 

Beyond the horizon, the sun was beginning to set and Blake was left with no choice but to tuck tail and drive back to Velvet's apartment. The entire afternoon had been a goose chase and there was a giant gift basket in her backseat that she had half a mind to throw out of the window. 

"Sun lied." Blake growled as she slammed her open palms against the steering wheel, jostling the vehicle a little, "I can't believe  _ he  _ **_ lied  _ ** _ to me." _

"Wait." Velvet placed her hand over Blake's, "Maybe  — Blake, please  — maybe we just need to drive a little bit slower."

"We've been driving in circles for the past hour!" Blake shouted until she felt her throat hurt, fingernails digging into her steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, "There is no blue  ** fucking  ** door and  **_ motherfucking  _ ** mailbox  — ** Fuck, fuck,  ** ** fuck ** **! ** "

"Blake, please calm down." Velvet said softly. 

Blake tried to still the hammering in her heart, tried to ignore the pulsing in her temple and the want to just scream. She loosened her grip on the steering wheel and stared at Velvet, ashamed of her outburst and her excessive use of expletives. 

This  wasn't like her. Blake had always been the calm one, had always been the sensible one, but a lot of things seem to be happening and all Blake wanted was to go home and cry. 

"Maybe her door isn't blue anymore." Velvet rambled on, her head whipping side to side as she looked for a blue door from where she sat, praying for it to magically appear this very instant, "Maybe her mailbox  _ fell  _ or something. Just... one last round and then we'll leave." 

Everything felt  like it was ready to combust and the weight on Blake's chest was getting heavier and heavier with each passing second. Still, she heeded Velvet's words with a resigned sigh. She drove around town at a much slower pace. She had already given up, but Velvet had this look on her face that practically screamed, ' _ I'm here to save you'. _

And perhaps, she was here to save Blake. 

It slowly dawned on Blake how much of a fool she had been for the last months. All of this running away and hiding and praying for Adam to disappear  — it was never going to happen and her newfound courage was turning her into a reckless stranger. But she had Velvet, who had pulled her out of her rut, had rushed to her side and had tried to salvage her reputation behind her back. 

Blake had Sun too. She had Coco, Fox and  Yatsuhashi . She had friends. 

She wasn't alone. 

"That mailbox!" Velvet jumped in her seat and Blake slammed on the brakes too hard, sending the poor girl sprawling over the dashboard, "It has — Ow!"

"Sorry." Blake held out a hand to help Velvet adjust back into her seat. 

" It has  flowers on it!"  Velvet pointed her fingers to a house in a corner. 

There were flowers on the mailbox, practically scratched away and faded. All that remained were odd  outlines, hand-painted by a toddler. The door wasn't exactly blue like Sun had informed them, but it could be gray in the way the sun sank  lower and lower, but maybe, in the daylight, it  wa s  a little more on the blue-green side, like aquamarine. 

Blake immediately parked her black sedan across the street, watching the street lamps flicker to life as she cut her engine and took a deep breath. The war songs had long faded, the feeling of her blood pumping in her veins had been replaced by disappointment and all she had was the debilitating hammering in her chest and the screaming in the back of her head, telling her to turn back. 

With every blink of her eyes, Blake could feel that she was back on Barthell hill, curled on her side and counting the weak breaths that Cinder's almost lifeless body took, afraid that if she missed one, the girl would die. Odd, wasn't it? She found it hard to breathe herself, but she worried more about the woman who had brought her to that moment, only in fear that she would have to endure that little bit of hell alone. 

Blake Belladonna was terrified, sitting in the driver's seat, listening  to her own breaths and watching the sunlight ebb away from this ghost town. But for how much longer shall she let the fear dictate her? How much longer will it affect every single factor in what passes as  _ her life _ ?

In hindsight, it would have been wise to have called her parents. It would have been wise to have spoken with Adam Taurus and told him she was no interested when they had first met. It would have been wise to have explained  to her friends the mysteries of her silences and grim demeanor. It would have been wise to have sat down in those morning classes, maybe for just one single day, and see where these little sensations — the scents of pine trees and the sound of absent-minded humming — would take her. 

And for a moment, the world had stilled despite the panic burning in her chest. Blake sighed, gripped the steering wheel once more and thought,  _ fuck it.  _

"Stay in the car." Blake said softly, unlatching her seatbelt, "I'll only take fifteen minutes." 

Velvet leaned in, hand clasped over Blake's in one last attempt for her to reconsider. Blake would have laughed if her stomach wasn't working like a cement mixer. They have come this far. Velvet hadn't protested in the last hour-and-a-half after she and Blake had stared as her slacks went ' round and round inside the washing machine at her apartment's laundry room. But the words were all in Velvet's worried eyes,  searching for the reassurance Blake couldn't promise. 

Blake pulled her hand away as she reached for the almost-forgotten gift basket in the back. She carefully placed the obnoxious thing on her lap before she gave one curt nod to Velvet. She hoped that the gesture had been reassuring enough. She slipped out of her car and studied the lawn as she approached. 

Cinder's  _ house  _ was a one-story building. It must have looked adequate some three years ago, but the off-white paint had been marred by crusted mud, dirt and the  chemical compounds in the atmosphere. The grass grew evenly in the middle, but the corners had clumps of dirt and weeds that would have needed a more direct tending instead of a lawnmower. 

Blake focused on the door now, wondering how Sun could ever have concluded that this was blue and failed to tell her that it wasn't the royal blue that people automatically thought of. It was aquamarine, she repeated to herself, hoping her own little argument could overshadow the voices screaming in her mind. 

_ Run away. Get out while you still can.  _

It wouldn't be such a horrible thing, if Blake knocked and a stranger would answer the door, apologize to her and tell her that she had the wrong house. It would be a disappointment, yes, but it would also be a blessing. Things happened for a reason, right? A mistaken door and crappy mailbox would be a blessing. 

She readjusted the gift basket onto one arm and she raised the other, took one last breath and knocked in sync with the thudding of her heart. The lights had flickered on from beneath the door and Blake was hoping upon hope that an elderly man wo had dozed off on the sofa would come out instead. 

The door barely opened and eye peeked out of the corner, much like her own, angry and wary and bloodshot, "Fuck!"

Blake's hand shot up to push, not to let herself in, but to get the foul-mouthed person to listen, "Cinder, let me in." 

Cinder had always been far stronger than she looked, Blake remembered, and she played dirty too, "Get off my property or I call the cops." 

The door slammed shut in front of Blake and she heard a body press against the weak wood. She knocked again, furiously, like a damn fool, asking the girl who had just shut her out to let her inside. Blake heard the sound of the door locking and metal scraping against metal — latch — followed by the sound of a deadbolt setting into place. 

"You've got some nerve showing your face here, slut." 

Blake ignored the moniker Cinder had given her. She had explained last year. She had tried to clear the air, but Cinder was steadfast in her belief that she and Adam were cavorting with each other when she wasn't looking. 

"I got you a gift basket." Blake said evenly, crumpling the plastic wrapping so Cinder could hear.

"There are trash cans in the front." Cinder responded, "Don't forget to put the lid back on after you crawl in." 

Blake heard footsteps moving away from the door. She pressed her head against the wood, wishing to hear Cinder walking back to at least listen to what she had to say. But it was silent on the other side. No sound of water running, or the white noise of a TV. 

"Cinder!" Blake called out, her forehead pressed heavily against the door and the gift basket sitting on her thigh, "I need your help."

More silence and more screaming at the back of her head, but at least it wasn't telling her to run away anymore. This time, it was telling her to walk home because she had already lost. Because what was she really thinking? Coming all this way to talk to  a girl who hated her guts? She knew what was going to happen. Blake had though up dozens of scenarios of how this was all going to play out and this was kind of like one of them... but less violent. She was glad for that, at least. 

"Cinder, please." Blake  continued , "I have a plan to get Adam off our backs, off every other person's backs. I need your help." 

Silence. 

Blake hated that part. 

She clenched her fingers into a fist, practically dumped the gift basket next to the door and knocked again, louder this time, with more ferocity. The wood shaking against her head.  Her fist was propelled by the disappointment welling in her stomach, by the voices telling her to break down the door, by the anger and the fear that danced in her chest and the thoughts and dreams of possibilities that were slowly drifting away. 

A loud thud erupted from the inside, its force knocking Blake's forehead from the door. 

"Shut up and leave!" Cinder cried out, "He's got his little shits-for-brothers lurking about here every other day and if he  sees us talking — and I don't even care what does to you — but I don't want  any more trouble. I did what he wanted. I'm out. Go back to Beacon and deal with this on your own." 

Blake backed away from the door and turned to her car, to see Velvet watching from the passenger's seat with worry etched all over her furrowed brows. 

"What the fuck do you want from me?" Cinder's voice cracked, followed by one weak thud against the door, "I can't do this anymore." 

Blake turned back and inched closer. She pressed her palm against the wood and thought of maybe comforting Cinder. The girl was probably crouched on the floor, exhausted from whatever she had been doing to her own front door, close to tears and quaking from terror and paranoia. 

"Cinder?" Blake whispered, You're the only one who can help me." 

"No, I can't." Cinder sobbed. 

"Remember  tha —" Blake bit her lip, "You said you were going to take a video. You said y—"

"Adam found it and destroyed it." Cinder laughed bitterly and Blake could feel her head aching from the shift in the girl's mood, "Whatever it is you think you're trying to do, bitch, I've already tried it before." 

The torrent of emotions came flooding back, daring to knock the wind out of Blake as Cinder's words settled into her. The war songs had long ended and the pumping in her veins wasn't courage, it was the will to survive —  _ run away and get out while you still can.  _

"Adam's got money and influence." Cinder continued, "Fuck, he got me kicked out of school for assaulting a fellow student, but I was the one who was in a coma. Two broken ribs and a face so swollen, my own mother couldn't recognize me. Unless you got millions of  lien and friends in far higher places stashed away under that turtleneck of yours, you can't win." 

_ This can't be it. _

"You better leave before I call the cops." A thud came from the opposite side of the door. 

Blake didn't have the energy to even try to figure out what Cinder was doing anymore. She stared down at the gift basket next to the door and sighed. She and Velvet had driven all this way for nothing. What little hope she had was gone now. 

Adam Taurus had always been one step  ahead of her. 

Hands in her pockets and her head hung low, Blake dragged her feet back to her car. She ignored the curious look on Velvet's face,  ignored the slight lean and the way her friend's hand had tried to reach out to touch her. The disappointment from Blake's posture should be enough of an answer. 

The drive back to Vale was quiet. As it should be. Funerals were often quiet, the silence only broken by hushed prayers and parting words that soothed the speaker. No one was listening. Grief was a  jumble of words, half-gibberish, but universally understood. 

Blake was glad for  Velvet's understanding. Her friend had resigned herself to staring out the window, watching cars, shadows and streetlamps pass them by. 

Blake, however, was resigned to her fate. There was no winning this war. She had been doomed from the start. Had she known that Adam Taurus would have developed an obsession with her, she would never have gone to any of the Lambda parties. 

It was all she could do — to wish for a life lived differently. There were so many things Blake wished she had done differently, many things she had wanted to do, wanted to see, wanted to feel, to touch. She wished for one mundane morning, walking outside of the lecture hall and to find a nervous girl with that lopsided smile that Blake had caught a few times. 

Had she never met Adam before that, Blake would have said yes. 

They were reaching city limits now, watching cars making their way up to  Makeout Point. Friday nights were wild. And Blake knew how far that can go. She sighed as they let a speeding van pass in front of them, nearly crashing into her car's front fender. She cursed  under her breath, her voice scratchy from lack of use. 

As soon as they had passed  Makeout Point, the roads were wide and clear. Getting to Velvet's  apartment had only taken a little over five minutes. Blake had  pulled  up right outside of the building, staring into the small-scale business establishments that lined up the street. She could see why Velvet felt that this area was far safer than the upscale side of Vale. There were people here — families, groups of friends milling about on the street, popping in and out of restaurants, bars, delis and lining up at food trucks. 

"Come on, Blake." Velvet whispered, unbuckling her seatbelt, "We can talk about what to do next upstairs. We can order that chicken pasta you love from that pizza place." 

Her stomach growled at that, remembering that she had barely eaten anything since brunch. Velvet had only smiled softly, despite the hopelessness that suffocated the two of them. 

_ This can't be it.  _

Blake closed her eyes. For the first time in the last four hours, she had felt the tremors of fear run up and down her spine, grasping at her throat and pulling her down deep. Adam had known where she lived. Adam had been waiting for her. 

Adam was going to win. 

"Blake?" Velvet leaned closer. 

Blake had no energy to open her eyes. Her body had desperately wanted to cry, to sob, to at least let a little bit of the tension out. She was exhausted. All this fighting had been for nothing. 

Blake only had one weekend, if she was lucky and if Yang wouldn't forget. In her current interactions with the girl, Blake probably only had one night. 

It had to be perfect. 

"Blake?" Velvet repeated. 

Blake's stomach responded first, reminding her of the chicken pasta that she hadn't had in a long time. Maybe she could take Yang there someday. They hadn't decided where to get yet anyway. That would be nice. 

"I'm  gonna go drive around for a little bit." Blake whispered as she opened her eyes to look at the shock and anger in Velvet's eyes, "I swear I'm coming back." 

Reluctantly, Velvet's face relaxed a little as she leaned back. Reluctantly, she had hopped out of Blake's car, but had intentionally taken Blake's overnight bag with her, reminding her that her favorite pair of slacks were in the bag. It wasn't intended as a joke, but it had been enough to lighten Blake's mood and coaxed a smile out of her. 

With one last promise to Velvet that she'd return in an hour, Blake drove and drove and drove. She had no destination in mind. All she had was the sickening feeling of doom, one last inch of hope and one night — a glimpse of what her life would have been like without Adam. 

Wild blonde hair, blowing in the wind, a smile that could knock anyone out, eyes like magic and warmth. So much warmth. 

Blake parked her car in front of a convenience store with the bored cashier and the lone drunk, fishing for change in his wallet. She could go inside and grab a few things. Velvet would appreciate it if Blake brought back a chocolate bar or two. Maybe some beer or a tub of ice cream. But Blake sat in the driver's seat, staring into the empty road ahead of her, the bright fluorescent light of the store almost too blinding to look at. 

She only had one night tomorrow. She had to make sure it was going to happen. 

She pulled her Scroll out of her pocket, absently punching in her passcode before she pulled up her contacts list. She scrolled all the way down to the very bottom, not even thinking twice before she called Yang. This was why they exchanged numbers anyway. 

One night. 

** Ring.  **

_ Pick up.  _

** Ring.  **

_ Please, pick up.  _

** Ring.  **

** Click.  **

"Hi, this is Yang. Try calling later or leave a  mes —"

Blake ended the call and  dialed again, like a madwoman. Again, Yang hadn't answered and Blake listened to the pre-recorded message, taking little comfort in Yang's voice. 

Because that was who Yang had been to her in the last year. Comfort. And warmth. Her humming, her tardiness, her easy smile, her light conversations, the way she just  **_ cared.  _ ** There had been a moment where Blake believed that maybe she and Yang were friends, that maybe they could be more, but rumors had  surrounded Yang Xiao Long. 

She was violent, she was rude, she was dumb as bricks. Those had been the very things that helped dull the attraction Blake had felt but pushed away. 

But Yang's eyes, and the sway of her hips, the curve of her lips and the scent of autumn in thick forests and the way she had tried to connect with Blake. Those were the things that kept roping her back in, back into Yang's orbit — a place that was full of promise, a place Blake couldn't tarnish with the shadows looming in her wake. 

One last time, Blake thought, one last call then she'll try again in the morning. 

** Ring.  **

** Ring.  **

_ Yang, p _ _ lease pick up.  _

** Ring.  **

** Click.  **

"Hi, this is Yang. Try calling later or leave a  mes —"

_ For heaven's sake,  _ **_ this can't be it! _ **


	16. Process of Healing Relations

She could hear the sound of waves crashing in the distance. 

It was almost as if she could feel the kiss of the sun on her cheeks and her arms, down to her toes. It had been a while since she had felt this feeling of calm. Eyes closed and a smile ghosting her lips, Yang was content. 

She  was  only  dreaming. 

She realized it as soon as a single eye had opened, taking in the gloom of her bedroom and the dark, blue light that filtered through her window. The waves crashing in the distance had only been the rain, unexpected, but letting the rest of the world know that it was here to stay for a little while. 

_ What day is it?  _

Saturday. 

It was Saturday morning, Yang thought to herself as she relaxed a little, burying herself deeper under her sheets. She took a half-dazed look at the window again, tried to estimate the time and prayed that it was still six in the morning.  She would probably cry tears of joy if she could return to sleep for another hour, remembering that she had to get to  Noola's by nine. 

She closed her eyes. Her hand drifted to the space right in front of her. That was where she had left her Scroll the night before, after idly staring at her newsfeed until the words became a blur and her eyes began to feel heavy. 

She slipped her hand beneath her pillow when she hadn't felt  it on the opposite side . Before long, Yang was twisting about under her sheets, fingers brushing over the rough fabric until whatever sleep was left had gone away, replaced by slight irritation. 

Yang rolled off of her bed, carrying her blanket with her and then it happened  — her Scroll fell to the floor. 

_ What time is it? _

Yang pushed herself off the floor, one hand firm around her Scroll while the other poorly rolled her blanket into a ball. 

7: 4 3 AM. 

_ No going back to sleep for me.  _

Yang threw her balled-up blanket on her bed as she dismissed her upcoming alarm for 8:00 AM, 8:15 AM, and 8:30 AM. She swiped away her shopping app's  _ End of Season Clearance Sale Up to 50% Off,  _ then came the spam emails that she would receive in the middle of the night, a text message from Nora and three missed calls. 

She sat back on her bed and unlocked her Scroll, surprised as she had seen who the calls were from. 

_ Blake Belladonna. _

Yang felt a rush and it was as if she were still dreaming, standing on the beach with the sun warming her skin. She felt giddy, excited and relieved that she was alone in her room because the pure delight she felt couldn't keep her from smiling like a  love-struck teenager. 

From out of nowhere, a sense of impending doom had found its way into Yang's mind and banished the joy she felt at this sudden  realization.

She couldn't quite figure Blake Belladonna out. 

Yang wasn't ungrateful that Blake had at least returned a little bit of her feelings, enough to have asked her on a date. It was just... Was it their conversation  at the Lambda House that had changed her mind? Yang had barely said anything that seemed appropriate or  _ intelligent.  _ Was it because she had put Blake's safety ahead of her own? Well, Yang was no stranger to a fight and Cardin was  definitely  no match for her. 

But these were the traits that Yang had believed were the reason why Blake had shot her down before — her candidness, her hot-headedness, her willingness to fight, her simple and direct attitude and choice of words; things that made her, well,  **_ her _ ** **_.  _ **

So, what changed? 

As far as Yang could tell, she was the same brash and brazen girl — but with a teenager, now! 

It must have been Blake then, who changed her mind, who finally saw Yang's value, who finally saw the charming side of her, who finally saw that Yang Xiao Long was worth it. 

She tossed her Scroll aside as she headed to the bathroom to get ready for work. She needed to get a head start in this bad weather and if she were to ask Ms. Delaney to change her schedule around a bit, then she needed to  _ show up  _ early and make a good impression. Yang was not in the mood to take advantage of her employer's kindness and understanding. 

Ruby, bless her poor soul, was already up and about, was in the middle of slathering some butter on her piece of toast and pouring herself some orange juice. The moment she had seen Yang trot out of her bedroom, Ruby turned to the fridge and retrieved a couple of eggs. 

After a quick shower, Yang watched as Ruby w aited for the eggs to cook on the stove, one hand around the frying pan and another raising her glass to her lips. 

_ When did she learn how to cook without screaming her head off? _

At 8: 1 3 AM, Yang slipped out of her bedroom, ready to head over to  Noola's . Backpack slung over her shoulder, an umbrella tucked safely inside and a change of clothes, Yang watched as Ruby set a plate of eggs and toast on the dining table. Her little sister then placed the butter near her as Yang practically inhaled her breakfast. 

"You know, Yang, you can be so gross sometimes. " Ruby shook her head, pouring Yang a glass of orange juice. 

"I need to get to work early." Yang swallowed the last of her toast and reached for the juice that she wished was coffee instead, " Gotta pay them bills." 

Ruby sighed and stared out the window, "At least it stopped raining for a bit, though I doubt the sun will shine today." 

Yang wiped her lips with the back of her hand, staring out the window as well. The rain had stopped and it was a little bit brighter now, but Vale still looked so dreary and a little wet. The clouds were a little dark and Yang saw lightning in the distance. 

_ Today of all days.  _

"I hope it doesn't rain tonight." Yang said absentmindedly as she deposited her plate and empty glass into the sink. 

"Is this because of your date with your girlfriend?" Ruby waved Yang away from the sink, a silent gesture that she was going to do the dishes and that Yang better leave, "That girl who looks like a cat and who thought that we were a thing.  Eww . Still  eww ."

"Ha  ha . Cat lady is not my girlfriend and I don't think she thought we were a thing." 

"Umm... she was jealous?"

"No way." Yang shook her head, leaning on the counter right next to Ruby. 

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Ruby fixed her an irritated look. 

Yang practically threw herself out of the door, telling Ruby that she would text Pyrrha to check in on her every now and then and maybe update Yang as well.  She made a mental note to have her friends spend a little bit more time with Ruby so everyone could get to know each other a little bit better. 

She decided against the smelly elevator, rushing down the stairs, two or three  steps  at a time, hopping down the last five steps with a thud. Mr.  Dormitorio was out in the front garden, pruning or whatever it  was he d id with his oversized scissors, flashing a dopey smile at Yang as she practically threw her bag into the passenger's seat. 

Yang feared that the morning rain might  slow her down a little bit ,  but the roads were clear and she was thankful to arrive just two minutes shy of the start of her shift, beaming at Ms. Delaney when she walked through the front door. "Present!" 

"Good morning, Yang." Ms. Delaney said as she straightened a few pieces of paper around, "You're early." 

Yang pointed at the blue plastic clock over above the counter, "I'm right on time. I just want to say thank you again for letting me take some time off." 

She  slipped behind the counter, nervously stood right next to Ms. Delaney, a smaller woman than herself, and tried to seem completely contrite and grateful. Yang's previous employer wouldn't have been half as understanding , and disappearing for almost three weeks was already a reason to have had her fired. 

But Ms. Lulu Delaney, a kind woman with bright blue eyes, smiled at Yang and wrapped her in a warm embrace, "Oh, sweetheart, there's no need to be so formal with me. I... I truly am sorry for your loss and I guess I'm just trying to do the best that I can." 

"It's honestly more than I deserve." Yang breathed a sigh, trying to keep her bag from slipping off her shoulder. 

"We all need a break sometimes, dear." Ms. Lulu stared up at Yang. T he older woman tucked Yang’s hair behind her ears,  trying to tame the wild fiery mane as much as she could and then settled to smile at her with a mixture of fondness and pity. "And I know you, Yang. You'll be back on your feet in no time. I just hope that you've gotten a little bit of your affairs in order." 

"I guess so." Yang shrugged. 

"These things take time." Ms. Delaney pinched her cheek and returned to her paperwork, "And money. Yang, I worry about you. That's all. I know you mentioned before that your mother isn't present and you've never mentioned any other family apart from your parents, so —"

"I have family." Yang bit her lip and stared at her shoes, dirty and muddy with puddle  stains on them, "I have a little sis ter  —  **_ half- _ ** sister — So, we don't exactly look alike. Her mom and my dad and now I'm all she has left. I had to get her settled here after the funeral and then there was school. She's sixteen and —" 

"Yang." Ms. Delaney whispered, "You don't have to explain, sweetheart." 

"Well," Yang stammered and scratched the back of her neck, avoiding Ms. Lulu Delaney's eyes, "I  kinda have to ask you something about that too." 

And  so , Yang had explained her little predicament with her boss, that she needed to clear her Thursday for a meeting at Ruby's school, a sort of Parent-Teacher thing — in this case, Guardian-Teacher. As Yang had expected, Ms. Delaney found no problem about letting Yang take Thursday off, but Yang had offered to mo ve her schedule around a bit, work a couple more hours a day and ask if Louie or Velvet could cover her Thursday. 

They would have talked more. Yang sensed that Ms. Delaney would have questions about Yang's well-being and how her sister was doing, but she couldn't find it in her heart to answer. Because what was there to say? It wasn't as if their father hadn't left them with a considerable amount of money and a little bit more once their property in Patch would  _ finally  _ be sold to some wannabe hunter or a rich older couple who wanted a hunting lodge in a sleepy town. Fortunately for Yang, the shop  door bell echoed and in came an elderly  gentleman . 

Ms. Delaney had offered to take care of the early morning customers while she handed a clipboard over to Yang, "Go get changed and do some final inventory. We'll have to put out an order at the end of the day so we'll have fresh stocks by the start of next month." 

Yang silently went into the backroom, grabbing her apron from under the front counter  on her way  into the hallway until she reached the little room where they kept their belongings. She tucked her bag away into an empty shelf, slipped her apron on and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She  slipped her Scroll into one of her apron pockets and tucked the clipboard under her arm, heading towards the stockroom. 

On her way, she checked her Scroll for the time and, she would never admit this anytime soon, she expected a text message or another missed call from Blake. 

The moment Yang had closed the door to the stockroom, she began to wonder if it was rude if she wouldn't respond to Blake's missed calls. It wouldn't have been an accident, considering she had  **_ three missed calls _ ** , but it could be a drunk call. Velvet had mentioned that she and her friends would often go out for a drink at some rundown bar downtown called the Mare's Nest. 

Maybe they went out for a drink last night. 

She pocketed her Scroll and began her work, heading straight for a small shelf for her to begin with. Still, the Mystery of the Midnight Missed Calls swam in her head as she listed down brand names and quantity. She hadn't even gotten through half the small shelf when her curiosity had gotten the best of her and she took her Scroll out and dared to send out a message. 

Besides,  there was nothing wrong with apologizing . Right? 

Sorry I missed your call.   
Yang, 9:48 AM

She pressed her Scroll against her chest and leaned against the shelf, the device suddenly a little too hot to the touch. Yang groaned as she stared down at the inactive screen , dreading a sudden beep or, worst of all: nothing at all. 

She busied herself by returning to work, moving on to a different shelf. She pulled out bottles of shampoo, turning them over so she can jot the brand down and noted the different scents. The next thing she would do was to organize the different powders when her Scroll vibrated in her pocket. 

Yang hesitated a little bit. It would be alright if she waited a minute or two before reading the message. It could be from Ruby, or Pyrrha  _ about  _ Ruby. It could also be Nora, who would ask if Yang was free tonight. It could even be from Weiss Schnee with a hesitant invitation to hang out at Pyrrha's apartment if she didn’t have Schnee things to do.

But Yang knew who it would be from because the last time her sister texted her was when she had gotten stuck at the Lambda party. She and Pyrrha really weren't close enough to regularly text each other unless it was a favor and Nora would probably still be asleep. Fat chance Weiss  would text her. 

She tucked the clipboard under her arm, stepped away from the shelves and held her Scroll up. Sure enough, there was a new message from Blake Belladonna. 

I thought you were awake. Sorry. Just wanted to   
ask if you decided on a place for tonight?   
Blake, 9:53 AM

Yang allowed herself to breathe for a moment. A  tiny part of her still clung to the belief that this entire date was just a fever-dream, but it would seem that Blake was doing  _ her  _ part to remind her. It was both a dream come true and an insult, but then again, Yang had no one to blame but herself. 

She thought of a response, that no, she hadn't thought about where they were going to go on their date. Her fingers danced over the screen, typing out that Blake should be the one to choose where they were going since she was the one who asked. Yang quickly deleted the entire message, counted to ten to calm her excitement and typed a fresh response. 

You're the one with great taste. I'll let you   
decide where we're going tonight.   
Yang, 10:09 AM

My bed time is at 10.   
Yang, 10:10 AM

And she really shouldn't have added that last part, but the message had been sent and Blake would already have seen that immature response. Yang wanted to throw her Scroll out the window, hop into her car and drive out of town for the next two days. She couldn't believe that just the mere thought of Blake, buffered by distance and only connected by this stupid piece of technology , could still leave her making a fool of herself. 

Have you ever been to Soba Station?    
I can pick you up tonight.   
Blake, 10:11 AM

She shouldn't even read too much into why Blake had responded immediately. Maybe Blake had some free  time or was distracting herself. Maybe she wanted to get this date over and done with. Is it really possible for feelings to change almost- overnight?

Against her better judgment, Yang waited to send her response. 

No, but I know where it is.   
I'll just meet you there around 7:30?   
Yang, 10:18 AM

Yang tucked her Scroll in between her thumb and the clipboard. She moved to the maintenance supplies for their cleaning equipment, checking to see if  the brushes were still okay and that they were now down to their last box of cleaning oil. She noted on the clipboard that it was time to replenish those. 

All of this was starting to feel like the opening line to a horrible punchline. She ought to just cut her losses and be thankful for the things that she had, but life hadn’t been fair and Blake had made it clear in the few times that they had seen each other  in the past  that she wasn't interested in her. 

Then there was that initial lie:  _ I have a boyfriend. _

That was a painful blow, yes, but Yang had carried the wound well. She had never asked Blake on another date, she had tried,  _ and failed,  _ to maintain a friendly relationship with Blake and she had made it a point to stay away from the girl to avoid making, Yang guessed, both  of t h e m uncomfortable. 

Yang  hadn’t mean t to pry, but she had seen Blake and Sun together and had cursed his poor boyfriend-ness. After that, every single boy that shared Blake's space was another one to curse and Yang bitterly cursed and cursed until there was no one else left to curse but herself. 

She realized that no one was going to be good enough for Blake, not when she believed that she was the only one who could make her happy. She realized that the only person who believed that was herself. She realized that she  **_ should _ ** be angry at Blake because, clearly, she didn't have a boyfriend and that she didn't have to lie. 

The last thing Yang realized was that she was smitten with Blake and despite that, she couldn't find it in herself to dislike her. So, she swallowed the bitterness and heartache down and the only thing that remained was the hope that maybe her fantasies would find fruition. Still, she forced a part of herself to move on and she felt that she was making good progress until the night of the Lambda party. 

Yang felt her Scroll vibrate and sure enough, there was a response from Blake. She shut her eyes and dared herself not to look. 

This felt like the proverbial rabbit hole, one that led right into another round of bitterness and misdirected anger. Yang was so close to the edge, that she could feel herself beginning to sink. She had two choices: let this entire suspicious thing drag her down or  _ jump  _ into the fray on her own terms and at her own pace. 

Yang unlocked her Scroll and smiled at the message, wondering just how big a jump this would be and how she could possibly roll with the punches. 

7:30 sounds great. Will your sister be fine   
on her own?   
Blake, 10:24 AM

_ Might as well, right?  _

Yang bit her lip and typed out a response. Maybe not being able to control herself was going to bite her in the butt, but right now, she just  **_ can't  _ ** control herself. Screw playing hard-to-get, screw trying to act all cool. If yesterday was anything to take from, Yang was a mess, a klutz and a bumbling fool. 

And if Blake, the girl of her dreams, was finally developing some sort of feelings for her, then it would be for  ** t ** ** hose ** **** reason s . 

Because she was Yang Xia o Long. And she was  wor th it. 

My neighbor will babysit her tonight. But   
I do have to be home before midnight. I don't   
want to keep both of them up.   
Yang, 10:25 AM

I'll have you home before bedtime.   
Blake, 10:25 AM

Yang Xiao Long was a  _ smiling  _ mess, and klutz and bumbling fool, tucking her Scroll back into her pocket as she tried to finish with taking inventory in the stockroom. She still had to make her rounds in the store front and then check the grooming equipment, maybe polish them until she could see her own reflection. She was excited and restless. That was an understatement. 

And Yang couldn't help but think that maybe Blake was too. 

Because you said you sleep around 10.   
Blake, 10:26 AM

We are also meeting there. So, you can leave   
anytime you want. Just clarifying.   
Blake, 10:27 AM

Are you nervous?   
Yang, 10:29 AM

Yang pocketed her Scroll for good now, a smile across her lips. She really had to get back to work. She could check for a response after she was done straightening whatever needed to be straightened in the store front. Ms. Delaney was staring at her Scroll too , glancing at Yang as she passed the older woman, clipboard in hand. 

"Mr. Pirelli's cancelled today." Ms. Delaney said softly, " He wants to be rescheduled to next Saturday." 

"Did he say why?" Yang bent down to separate the red food bowl from the blue ones . 

"He's out of town, apparently." Ms. Delaney laughed, "He checked in at The  Centzon Lodge in Pino Town last night." 

Yang felt her Scroll vibrate in her jeans. She straightened herself and stared at her boss, who was fixated on whatever it was she was seeing on her Scroll. She left the food bowls alone. It was going to be a slow morning anyway and  _ this  _ was suddenly more important. 

Yang pushed herself against the front desk, hands steady and splayed out over the top as she kept her eyes on Ms. Delaney, "Are you stalking Mr. Pirelli?" 

Ms. Delaney flushed. That was the only answer Yang needed, but of course, the older woman tried to deny her claims. "No. It just popped up on my newsfeed and he texted me that he couldn't bring Shelby over for her regular grooming." 

Yang opened her mouth then shut it again, reminding herself that this was her boss that she was talking to, "Why is he texting you?" 

Ms. Delaney sighed, but her cheeks were still flushed and her lips twitched every now and then, "Because he was cancelling his appointment. I don't know, Yang." 

Yang kept silent, but she smiled her devilish grin at Ms. Delaney. She turned on her heel with as much flurry as she could come up with and she returned to sorting the food bowls. As soon as that was done, Yang allowed herself to check her new message and tried not to laugh. 

No. I'm sure tonight will be great.   
Blake, 10:31 AM

Should I pick you up at your place?   
Velvet mentioned you were working today.   
Blake, 10:44 AM

Your nervous af. We agreed to meet   
at Soba Station earlier.   
Yang, 10:47 AM

You're*   
Yang, 10:47 AM

"Who are  **_ you  _ ** texting?" Ms. Delaney's voice was loud and accusing. 

Yang almost dropped her Scroll at the sheer suddenness of the question, jumping to cower under the teasing smirk on the older woman's face. Yang quickly hid her Scroll away and, without a word, moved to the toys section to hide. 

"It's Blake, isn't it?" Ms. Lulu smirked, "Velvet's friend who looks like Wednesday, except she actually smiles from time to time."

Yang stood and laughed, "That would make her a  Morticia then." 

"I'd like to say that she's both, all wrapped up in one big heap of hopeful sarcasm, which leads me to wonder if that girl has ever been seen in anything bright or floral." 

Yang shrugged, turning away before Ms. Delaney could ask her anything more, but the older woman stopped her with a few more innocent questions; innocent, but quite bothersome. Yang felt that they weren't entirely directed at her because how would she know what Blake's favorite color was, or if she was the  _ black coffee  _ type of girl, or if she secretly loved chocolate. 

She remembered asking Blake one morning, when the entire class was filing out of the lecture hall,  _ do you always wear black?  _ And Blake had responded with,  _ most of the time.  _ Short, cryptic, in hindsight, it was a sign of her disinterest, but Yang had treated it like an invitation to try harder. 

Now, the more Ms. Delaney spoke of Blake, the less sure Yang was if the Blake she liked was the same Blake who had just sent her another message.

Sorry. Yeah, you got me there. But if you change   
your mind about picking you up, the offer still stands.   
Blake, 10:50 AM

** Something  ** didn't feel right. Yang couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something felt odd,  horrifying. Half of her mind is telling her that she was being a damn fool, that she should banish her doubts and trust that the universe is finally turning the way she wanted. She and Blake were texting, joking and planning their date; maybe they were even  _ flirting?  _ Bottom line was, they were communicating, sharing bits and pieces of themselves. Yang had waited so long for this and there was that gnawing feeling that this was all wrong. 

It couldn't be. 

Nah. I still have to get home and check on   
Ruby and change.    
Yang, 10:51 AM

Besides, if we just meet there, we'd both still   
have our getaway cars in case we'd want to   
escape if things go weird.   
Yang, 10:51 AM

Yang finished with her inventory and menial tasks to the sound of Ms. Delaney's queries and theories about Blake, her lighthearted musings  of Yang's attraction to the girl, followed by dating advice that Yang remembered not asking for. 

A ring  came  from  the  bac k, in Ms. Delaney's office. Wordlessly, Yang positioned herself right in the middle of the counter while her boss went to answer the call. When Ms. Delaney's soft murmurs were suddenly muffled by the sound of a door closing, Yang guessed that it must have been either a supplier, a family member  — or Mr. Pirelli. 

She grabbed a piece of paper from beneath the counter. Ms. Delaney can say that Yang could take Thursday off, but her guilt wouldn't let her accept any more kindness from her boss. It also wasn't fair for Velvet and Louie who had been working  **_ her  _ ** shifts for her. She told Ruby that she could take care of herself, so all she had to do was make good on that. 

This should have been an easy task. It wasn't that difficult to divide her working hours to just  f ive  days instead of six . Just add an hour-and-a-half to the other days. Maybe Just add an extra hour for the next two weeks so she wouldn’t overwork herself. 

Blake had just texted her. 

Things won't get weird. We won't need an   
escape plan.    
Blake, 10:54 AM

You sound so sure of yourself.   
Yang, 10:55 AM

I am sure. They have really good ramen.   
You'll probably want to live there for a week.   
Blake, 10:55 AM

LOL. I have three things to say to that.   
First, that's intriguing. I love ramen.   
Yang, 10:56 AM

Second, if I don't come home, my sister's   
going to call the police.   
Yang, 10:56 AM

What are the other two?   
Blake, 10:56 AM

Lastly, my neighbor might call the cops   
for my sister. So, gotta be home by bed time.   
Yang, 10:57 AM

You're exaggerating.   
Blake, 10:57 AM

The front door opened and the shop bell rang. Yang looked up to see a short old woman, shuffling through the door. Yang almost jumped over the counter when the old woman smiled wide and waved Yang away. 

"I still know how to open a door, child." The woman laughed, her head of gray hair threatening to come loose from her bun. 

Yang planted both her feet on the floor and gripped the counter. It wasn't as if she thought this woman was helpless, it was more to do with the fact that Yang felt useless. But this woman's smile never faded as she pulled on the lapels of her big  honey- yellow trench coat. 

"I would need your help carrying a five-kilo bag of dog food though." The woman patted Yang's hand, "I hope you don't mind." 

"I'd be happy to help!" Yang flashed her a big smile and she circled the counter to stand next to the customer, extending her arm for her to lean onto as they made their short walk to the dog food section. 

"My dog, June, she's small." The old woman gently supplied, her grip tight around Yang's arm, "I would have brought her with me, but Allie took her out for a walk." 

Yang did her best not to grab the woman by the elbows, or worse, have her sit somewhere while she get the dog food herself. Yang had encountered customers like these before, old and almost frail, who wanted to push their limits to defy their weakening bodies. This woman didn't look  _ too  _ old, but she was definitely not young and spry enough to be carrying a bag of dog food on her own. 

Yang wanted to ask if this woman drove here herself, thinking it too rude, she just kept her mouth shut and pointed at the different bags on the lower shelves by the wall. Fortunately for Yang, the older woman handed her the money so she could run back to the register and punch it in. She quickly grabbed the change and presented it back to the customer. She didn't wait to be asked to carry the dog food. She was used to it and she was definitely not going to even  **_ think  _ ** about this old woman doing it herself. 

"Oh, thank you, dear." She cooed and opened the front door for Yang, "My car is just right there."

Yang spotted the red sedan in right in front of the store. With quick, long strides, Yang found herself standing over the trunk door, shifting the bag over to her left hand as her right hand was raised to pop it open. 

"Oh,  Noola's Pet Wares and Groomers." The woman exclaimed as Yang lowered the bag into her trunk, "Maybe I could get my little Juniper trimmed here. Would you be able to schedule me for next week, Monday? I love my little June, but she can be quite difficult to handle and I always have to tug her leash to get her to walk. I'll ask my daughter to bring her here then." 

Yang wiped her hand down on her pants, feeling her Scroll vibrate in her pocket again, but she ignored it to face the unnamed woman in the big yellow coat, "Your daughter can just walk-in for a grooming on Monday. We don't really get a lot of pets to groom on Mondays and Thursdays." 

"Oh, that's wonderful." she clapped her hands together and smiled up at Yang, "I, we  — we tried growing her hair out like those other  Yorkshire terriers on TV, but I think I would want to see if my June would prefer having shorter hair." 

"I'll be sure to remember that, ma'am." Yang nodded. 

She should have asked the woman her name, Yang thought as she watched the car drive down the road and disappear into traffic. She stared at the crumpled bill that the woman practically forced into her hand and wished that she  **_ had  _ ** asked for her name. At least Yang knew to expect a woman named Allie and a Yorkshire terrier named Juniper on Monday. 

Ms. Lulu Delaney was back behind the counter the moment Yang walked into the store. She nodded her acknowledgement as Yang slowly made her way beside her. The two of them sat in amiable silence, Ms. Delaney looking at her Scroll while Yang did the same. 

Your sister seems nice.   
Blake, 11:03 AM

Don't let that fool you. She can be a brat,   
but I guess she's alright.   
Yang, 11:39 AM

Why would she call the police though?   
Blake, 11:42 AM

It was just a joke.   
Yang, 11:43 AM

Yang lied. 

Again. 

It was a small lie, she thought to herself. Blake didn't need to know  _ that  _ part of her life, the part that was messy and odd and was haunted by irresponsibility. Yang tried to reassure herself that it wasn't an entire lie. Ruby would never get Yang into that much trouble. Her sister needed her. 

But then she remembered all those nights of researching about guardianship and parenthood, what to do with teenagers, social services and adoption and inheritances. T hey were all one massive gavels pounding on her head, one after  another. Some sentences made little sense to her and then she read that negligence could lead to imprisonment and — Yang was too young to go to jail. 

She sighed and tucked her  Scroll away, barely hearing the store bell ring as another customer entered. 

"Good morning and welcome to  Noola's !" Ms. Delaney said with practiced ease. 

Yang was about to mimic her boss when she looked up to see kind blue eyes and a charming smile directed at her. Neptune  Vasilias , bright blue hair and strong, defined jawline. He was a handsome man, playful, approachable and very attractive. 

"Hi, uh..." He stammered as he slipped his hands into his pockets and  then pulled them  back out, "Can I talk to Yang for a moment?" 

Ms. Delaney paused. She and Yang exchanged a brief look before she broke into a teasing smile. Yang didn't need to hear any words to know what sort of thoughts were currently swirling about in the older woman's mind. 

"I guess you should take an early lunch break." Ms. Delaney waved Yang away. 

"I'll be right back." Yang rushed to the little breakroom and grabbed her bag. She had never been comfortable being put on the spot, especially not when it involved people she had indirectly hurt because of her feelings. 

_ Damn feelings.  _

Yang mumbled her goodbyes to Ms. Delaney as she grabbed Neptune by the wrist. She led him outside and sighed the moment the door closed behind them. Neptune looked at her expectantly, but she just smiled at him in return. 

"It's not that serious." Neptune explained, standing so tall in front of Yang that his head completely blocked out the sun, "I happen to be around the neighborhood and thought I could stop by and talk." 

"We can talk..." Yang looked around the street, a practical ghost town except for the convenience store  i n the corner. It was the perfect watering hole for passersby, people going to the auto shop a block away, the rundown gas station three buildings beside  Noola's and a few artisanal food joints next to the bike store further down the road. "We can talk at Jessie's Joes." 

"Jessie's Joes? Are you serious?" Neptune laughed. 

Yang paid him no mind.  They walked past the gas station, past the bus stop, moving towards the artisanal pizzeria and soup store before finally arriving at an outdoor café. A faded sign hung by the entrance,  _ Jessie's Joes,  _ white paint on uneven wood panels. They didn't have any floors, just the ground, fresh dirt that sank as they stepped up to the counter. A boy in his teens openly stared at Yang, as was his custom when she would come here. She ignored him and stared at their equally plain menu board. 

This place looked like a garage that had been swallowed by mother nature, ready to be shut down at a moment's notice, but surprisingly, a lot of older gentlemen liked to drink their coffees here, out in the open, where they could chit chat about politics or family woes. 

Yang ordered the lattes for the both of them, thinking that her sufficient knowledge of the menu would be enough for Neptune who still looked at the place with childlike wonder, as if he had never been to a place like this before. Strange, since Yang had seen him and a few other Lambda boys in the area a few times before and Jessie's Joes was visible from the main street. 

They sat in a secluded corner where the dirt was kind of uneven, but at least it offered them a little privacy. 

Yang took a long sip of her coffee before she turned to Neptune, "So, what brings you all the way to my part of town ? You out doing the Lord's work?" 

Neptune forced himself to laugh, turning his cup of coffee in his hands, "If by  _ Lord,  _ you mean the great chancellor Taurus, then yeah. We're looking for business establishments to sponsor our next big event."

"Dude, have you seen the businesses here?" Yang laughed, "Blue-collar guys, family businesses and small-time chains that employ college kids from  _ that  _ crappy electronics store down to the bakery five blocks from here. You should try the  mega corporations down at Staton Street." 

"The mega corporations also employ fresh graduates at bare minimum. Also, that's some other brother's assignment. I'm stuck here with  Jaune and Sun." 

Yang groaned, "And I thought  Jaune joining your stupid fraternity was just a joke." 

Neptune cast her an unimpressed look. She quickly smiled but didn't try to correct herself or apologize. Yang had nothing to apologize for anyway. The Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity was a bunch of dude bros hanging out, pretending to be upstanding citizens by day and partying like unhinged animals every weekend. Not all men, yes, but Yang had been to the last Lambda party and Sun and Neptune served drinks. 

"If the three of you were  **_ assigned  _ ** here," Yang cleared her throat and took a small sip of her coffee, "where are they? Did you guys like, what, divide and conquer?" 

Neptune sighed and quietly drank his coffee. Yang stared at him for a moment and saw, for the first time that morning, the exhaustion on his face. There were bags under his eyes, subtle but present. There were scrape marks along his jaw, a mark of irresponsible shaving which was an unusual thing for Neptune who had never been seen with any scratches on him. Then there was the way his shoulders sagged as he leaned forward, absently twisting his cup as he stared into the distance. 

"Did you guys fight or something?" Yang spoke softly, afraid that it would upset him. All  of a sudden, she was hyper aware that she didn't know how to talk to Neptune and she wondered how she had survived her date with him. 

But then  again, he was a different guy then. He was carefree and jovial, nervous and eager to impress her. He talked in a cool manner, but he had a lot to say and he listened to Yang's responses after he had fished them out of her. 

_ Then what went wrong? _

"We didn't fight." Neptune smiled. He took another long sip of his coffee and then stared into its contents as he twirled his cup around again, like the very act of it was the most interesting thing he could do. " Jaune and Sun are back at their little secret base or something." 

" _ Their  _ little secret base?" Yang giggled into her cup, "Sounds like somebody's jealous." 

It was an innocent comment. It meant nothing, but Yang was aware of how it sounded. She looked up at Neptune, expecting anger or irritation in his eyes. She was surprised to see him staring blankly over her shoulder with a deeper frown on his face. His cup was half-empty and he had stopped twirling it around the air. 

Yang reached out and tried to push his cup back to the table, not for fear that he might throw his drink at her. It was as much comfort as she could give and she hoped it would be enough to at least get him to talk to her. 

Neptune sighed and practically shrank in on himself. Before Yang could say anything, he smiled up at her. "I heard you have a date tonight." 

Yang  twitched. She looked at their joined hands, intending not to let go.  Of course, Neptune would know about the date. Beacon University might be big, but a majority of the students were gossipmongers. It also didn't help that his  _ best friend  _ was  _ dating  _ the girl who had asked Yang out. 

This was all some next-level drama that surpassed any soap operas. 

Neptune squeezed her hand and she looked up to see his unfaltering smile, "Don't worry, Yang, I'm practically over you." 

Yang winced, "I don't know if that should make me feel better or not." 

Neptune laughed, loud enough to earn dirty looks from other people. He pulled his hand away from Yang and leaned back in his seat. "It should, it should. I kind of felt that my feelings for you were getting in the way of us actually being friends. So, I guess, I'm sorry it's made you feel like you, I don't know,  **_ owe  _ ** me anything." 

"So, are we?" Yang glanced at him then back to her coffee cup, "You know, friends? Like for real this time?" 

Neptune laughed, "Yeah, of c — "

"I don't want to make  yo — "

"Yang, please. Come on." Neptune placed his hands over hers. 

Yang looked into his eyes, so kind, so blue and gleaming with an ounce of happiness swirling around defeat. He had such beautiful eyes, she thought to herself, and for a moment, she held her breath. She wondered how bright his eyes would shine if he didn't seem so angry and sad most of the time. Even when he was with her, it was as if a cloud of disappointment loomed over him. 

She felt her Scroll vibrate in her pocket and Yang brushed it off. She was expecting a text from Ruby, or Pyrrha. There was even that small chance that it would be Blake, seeing as they've spent the better part of the morning texting each other about their date tonight. Whoever it was could wait. Neptune needed her and she felt it in the way he loosened his grip on her hands, the way he sighed and folded his arms over his chest. 

"I never really thought about how you felt." He began, still staring at his half-empty cup of coffee, "I really liked you, I really did. I still do, a little, but in that friendly way , you know . But I seem to keep messing up and I can't help it. I can't help how I feel. And I'm sorry. I know this is going to make you feel awful, but I haven't talked about this with  **_ anyone  _ ** and... It hurt, I guess. I was really happy when you said you were  gonna go on a date with me and I felt like hot shit that night."

He was right. Yang felt awful. She recalled the night very well. It was a pleasant evening at a semi-fancy restaurant. He wore a black pinstripe shirt, the same shade as the waiters' vests and she remembered wearing a short pink dress with a lace back. It was the first night in a long time that she had even worn a dress and she hated every minute she was in those four-inch pumps. 

She kept her thoughts to herself. The guilt grabbed hold of her tongue and all she could do was take small sips from her coffee, not wanting to drink all of it, but dreading how cold it had gotten. 

"I thought there'd be a second date." Neptune continued with a  slight smile that quickly turned into a frown, " Then you sort of ghosted me. To my surprise, a few weeks later, Sun tells me his friend  _ Blake  _ said you asked her out."

"Neptune, I'm sorry." Yang bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers. 

"Don't." He said softly, " **_ She _ ** __ should be sorry... for turning you down. For  _ everything _ ." 

Yang looked at him curiously and suddenly fearfully. It was no secret that Neptune disliked Blake, but she never really thought he would feel so  _ intensely  _ **_ against  _ ** the girl. He must have caught himself, free from his cool temperament. He looked at Yang cautiously for a moment and he sighed as he leaned forward. 

"I don’t like her." Neptune admitted. 

Yang nodded.  It was all she could do. 

"I wouldn't have really minded." He continued, "Whoever you date is your business. I get that. It just pissed me off because a couple of days after I found out, Sun comes up to me and tells me to go along with their  _ fake  _ relationship. And I sort of did, because I was mad and stupid." 

"So, they really aren't together?" Yang didn't have to ask. The answer had always been clear. 

Neptune shook his head, "I don't get why Sun and  _ her  _ think that their stupid game would work. It just baffles me why Sun would willingly agree to that bullshit. It's the twenty-first century, damn it. Fuck. It's so stupid. But this is Sun we're talking about. He said she asked and it just dawned on me that  there are probably a million things that he would do for her." 

"Is that why you've been a dick to her?" Yang reached for her cup and frowned at its emptiness. She carefully set it aside and leaned back on her seat, staring at Neptune, beginning to feel a little comfortable with their topic of  conversation . 

"The Lambda brothers called me a fag because of her." Neptune said dryly, then smiled, "It was easier to be mad at her because I couldn't hate you or Sun. I'm mad that you and  him would get yourselves caught in her web of lies and I know that you know she's lying."

Yang kept her mouth shut. 

Blake lied to her that fateful morning, right to her face.  _ I have a boyfriend.  _ She lied when all Yang wanted was a yes or a no. She knew Blake wasn't seeing anyone. She had asked around — and she had only asked Velvet, who told her that Blake was very private — and she had found that her answers were an unspoken go-ahead, get  your sel f h urt .

Her Scroll vibrated once more and Yang suddenly felt ill. Blake lied. She had no right to be angry that Blake had turned her down, but she could at least feel upset that Blake lied, right? Subconsciously, she placed her hand over her Scroll, a futile attempt and a wish for things to sudden ly become clear. 

Because Yang  _ liked  _ texting with Blake. Yang liked exchanging quips and banters. Yang liked that Blake didn't wait ten minutes to respond. Yang liked that Blake sounded like both a nervous mess and a suave charmer in between the messages. Yang liked feeling the butterflies each time she opened her Scroll. 

Yang liked Blake. 

"What does she have that I don't?" Neptune mumbled to himself, the coffee cup close to his lips as he stared into it. 

Yang stared at him for a moment. She could never know exactly what he was going through, but Yang understood pain. Perhaps that was all she needed to know. She chewed on her bottom lip and felt a tightening around her chest. 

She felt responsible, despite her better judgment, despite the reassurances that Neptune had given her, but there was really nothing she could do. She liked him as a friend and she liked Blake a little bit more than that. 

Neptune must have sensed her gaze. He quickly smiled and looked away from her with a dismissive smile. His cheeks were tinged red and he tried not to meet her eyes. "What? Is Blake a blonde magnet or something?  Jaune tried to flirt with her the other day." 

Yang groaned and felt the relief settle into her stomach, " Jaune likes  _ anyone." _

The two of them laugh ed for a moment , and for a second, they were two people who found comfort in each other. Neptune was her friend and Yang was starting to feel like she was his. 

"How is he, by the way?" Yang said coolly, feeling the soft tendrils of nervousness let her go, " Jaune , I mean. It's just so odd how he went to that party to look for a girl and now he's a  **_ Lambda brother.  _ ** Sorry, but apart from the scholarship and free housing, I don't know what would compel him to want to be in that sausage fest." 

Neptune laughed and then his shoulders dropped as he sighed, ready to be swallowed into the ground. Yang then remembered that Neptune had come to her in low spirits. "The scholarship and free housing part is currently...  _ questionable  _ but the Chi Rho Delta Lambda is more than just that... years ago. The last two chancellors have been fun and exciting, new kinds of fundraisers that weren't highbrow or anything, you know, made the fraternity a little more welcoming." 

"And all sorts of creeps and jerks have come out of the woodworks, hurling insults and getting into all sorts of trouble." Yang watched the way Neptune quirked a brow at her and quickly added, "Present company excluded." 

"There is a divide in the fraternity right now." Neptune emptied his coffee cup and sighed again, "The creeps and jerks, yeah, I know of them, they're there. I don't think any organization with more than  ** ten  ** people is going to be free of creeps and jerks. But they're the ones who care so little about everyone else and they probably have pockets so deep we'd all get swallowed whole and never be found for days. We exist too, Yang, us guys who have to rely on the scholarships and free housing just to graduate." 

"But where are you?" Yang straightened, "Sorry. Who am I to talk? I'm in a kind of similar situation. Sorry, Neptune, I'm just... mad at Cardin and that asshole who wanted to see my boobs." 

" Jaune ," Neptune shook his head and laughed, "that little guy who kept yapping on and on about this girl he liked? Well, he stopped talking about her."

"Fuck finally!" Yang cheered. 

"He's currently rallying us less-fortunate brothers to fight for our rights."

Yang leveled him with a grimace and a questioning expression, "Dude. How?" 

Jaune, the scrawny  boy with a near-obsession with hair gel and who had spent the better part of last week chasing after a girl — Yang ma de a mental note to ask who this girl  actually was — and who  easily got scared. Jaune, the same boy who had sat with her and Ren  and Nora  at the Hannah Turing Library without any invitation and who had actually asked Yang on a date , claiming they were a good match simply because of their hair colors . 

_ Damn son.  _

" Jaune's not so bad," Neptune smiled at her forlornly, "He's been very vocal about the problems in the fraternity. At first it was all just complaints here and there and everyone sort of drowned him out because he was the new initiate. But then he started talking sense. Barely a week and he's trying to turn things around, claims to want to start his  _ own  _ fraternity or something." 

Jaune Arc, the hopeless romantic nerd who tried too hard was now a part of a revolt .

Yang sat  slack jawed . 

"Between you and me," Neptune leaned close and waited for Yang to do the same, "he's digging some dirt to get Adam Taurus out of the fraternity. Sun believes that when Adam gets thrown out of Beacon, the assholes like Cardin and Dove are  gonna follow." 

"Dirt?" Yang tilted her head and smelled the coffee in Neptune's breath, "What dirt?" 

Neptune looked around him, blue eyes darting from one customer to another. He licked his lips before he leaned closer and spoke in whispers. "Some scholarships have relied on the funding from the alumni of the fraternity, older members who have graduated to become rich execs or whatever.  ** But, but,  ** I say but here — "

"Just get to the point!" Yang clicked her tongue and pursed her lips. 

"Some shady stuff has been happening since Adam stepped  i nto the role." Neptune continued with angry excitement, "Some of the alumni have pulled their support because the higher-level brothers have been acting up. Of course, the first brothers to lose their scholarship s are the guys who aren't overly friendly with the chancellor and his right-hand shitheads who get cars as a sign of good faith. It's only a matter of time before somebody gets kicked out of the house. Me? I don't want to wait." 

"You're leaving the Lambdas?" 

"Maybe. Not now." Neptune shrugged and leaned back in his seat, "I'll stick around see what  Jaune and Sun are  gonna get themselves into. What's a rebellion without people, right? Imagine that though. The new guy starting a revolution." 

_ Damn. Son.  _

"I also need to give my parents a little heads up." Neptune sighed, the sadness returned to his face as he stared at his empty cup of coffee, "The fifty-percent discount on tuition fees and free housing has been a blessing, but I have to think that whatever my family saved is  gonna help fund my last two years of university." 

Yang was quiet for a moment. She understood this one too, this feeling of impending doom, like the storm clouds looming over the horizon. She thought of Ruby. Her little sister was still in high school.  She didn’t have  the heart to call Ozpin  yet,  to ask if their father had set aside some small fortune for her college tuition. But what if Taiyang didn't set anything aside for that? Summer Rose had long since passed so it wasn't as if she could pay off Ruby's fees from her dog grooming salary alone . 

Yang couldn't bear the thought of covering Ruby's tuition. She added another mental note to ask Ozpin. Screw propriety and whatever. Yang had no money  for  **_ that  _ ** and neither did Ruby. 

Neptune stood all of a sudden, stretching his arms over his head as he  stretched . Yang looked up at him, at the easy smile on his face and saw that he  _ looked _ a little bit better. She could only hope that she could have helped him somehow because she felt like deadweight at the moment. 

"We should head back to your work, yeah?" He offered, extending his hand to help Yang up, "I need to go  _ get sponsors  _ and according to you, I've got five more blocks of rejection left." 

"Not funny." Yang frowned but accepted his hand anyway. 

Together, the two of them headed out of the quaint café. They walked back to  Noola's a little bit closer to each other and Yang had even stopped herself from linking their arms together, as she was used to doing when she was with Nora or Ren and maybe sometime soon, Pyrrha and maybe even Weiss. Yes, Neptune was now officially her friend but there were still traces of feelings in between them, a little too much for friends and unfortunately one-sided. 

When they had reached the gas station near  Noola's , Neptune had asked Yang about Blake. Though she felt uncomfortable speaking about Blake with Neptune  — who had already made it clear that he did not like her  — the genuine curiosity in his kind blue eyes was enough to get her talking. 

Even just a little bit. 

"I'm a little nervous." Yang stammered, one hand resting over her Scroll in her pocket , "I mean, not really. I'm a little excited too. It kinda makes me feel sick. I don't know." 

"That's fine." Neptune smiled at her, but Yang could still feel his eyes on her, waiting and worried, "You  wanna talk about it?" 

"It's just weird." Yang sighed, "It's  **_ really  _ ** weird that she asked me out  **_ now.  _ ** After last year's worst-date-ever-invitation-in-the-history-of-forever, we barely talked and now something's changed her mind and I have no idea where it came from, what to do and if I should be thrilled or not? And you just told me she was shady. So, now, I don't know what I'm doing."

Yang stopped in front of the small tattoo shop right next to  Noola's . She cast a glance at the front door, wondering if a lot of things have happened since she had left Ms. Delaney on her own. Saturdays were  seldom calm, but they weren't always hectic. There was still something that she wanted to say, something she wanted to get off her chest and Neptune had proven himself a reasonable doubter. Especially when his doubts were completely in-sync with her own. 

She peeked into the glass, praying that there was nobody else inside  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers  but Ms. Delaney and that she was on her Scroll, hopefully waiting or texting with Mr. Pirelli. She wasn't on her Scroll. She was behind the counter, drinking coffee and writing something down. 

She turned back to Neptune, kicking at the pavement, his hands in his pockets. She pulled her Scroll out of her  pocket but held it beside her. It was beginning to feel a little heavy with the messages that she hadn't responded to in the last hour. 

"She's confusing." Yang began staring at Neptune's dirty shoes, "I'm not so sure she  _ really  _ likes me, you know, like likes-me-likes-me. I'm starting to realize that maybe I'm just a convenience to her?"

"What do you mean?" 

"I can't shake the feeling that the Blake  ** I  ** talk to in person isn't the same one I'm texting  ** with ** ."

Neptune's voice rose in excitement, "You guys are texting?" 

"I hate myself for this because I've been waiting for this for a  _ really  _ long time and, boom, your crush asks you out on a date and why doesn't it feel right?"  Yang  groaned as she threw her head back and pressed her Scroll against her cheek, "I don't know what's wrong with me." 

She almost jumped when Neptune gently place d his hand on her shoulder, "Nothing's wrong with you, Yang. Believe me." 

She straightened herself and looked him in the eye, "But why do I feel like I'm being pulled in different places here? A part of me wants to show up to this date and believe that, from this point forward, I'm going to have a fairytale ending  and then there’s  this huge chunk of my brain playing that red alert siren sound and that I should head for the hills before the kitchen catches fire." 

Neptune didn't say a word. He squeezed her shoulder and they both look ed at each other for a little while with soft comforting smiles. Yang felt safe with Neptune here, at peace. And she realized that this peace she felt wouldn't magically make all of her problems disappear. She realized that this peace was just a bubble of forgiveness where it was okay to be confused and to be angry and to feel hurt. 

"I can't speak for Blake." Neptune said softly and Yang suddenly felt whiplash. Neptune had spent the entire time that they were together expressing his anger  and disapproval of Blake and now, he had begun his sentence with something that could potentially sound like something a friend would say about someone he was afraid of slandering . "I don't want to do that because I'm probably biased but... let me ask you this, what do  ** you  ** want?"

"I'm sorry, what?" 

"What do you want?" Neptune repeated, flashing that charming smile of his, "Don't think of the consequences, of whether or not Blake is sincere or if you're going to have that fairytale ending. Just... right now, what does Yang want?" 

"I don't know!" Yang shook her head and groaned again. 

"Come on, Yang, I know you know what you want. You're just afraid to say it out loud in case you might be wrong." 

"I'm not scared." Yang bit her lip and turned away. She would have returned to  Noola's had it not been for Neptune's hand around her wrist and those really kind blue eyes and that soft gentle smile. 

"What do you want, Yang?" That's right. Neptune made her feel safe.

She sighed and smiled at her feet, "I want to go on that date tonight and talk to her, get to know her and find out what the flip is actually going on." 

"Then you should go do that." Neptune laughed, full-bellied and jovially, as if he hadn't just walked into  Noola's an hour before with the longest face, "But if it's any consolation, Yang, if you still hear the alert sirens and if the kitchen catches fire, you can always decide to  **_ not  _ ** have a second date. You know, probably ask someone else out after a couple of weeks." 

"Neptune." Yang whined, feeling attacked all of a sudden, "Again, I am deeply sorry about that." 

"Nah, it's cool." Neptune shrugged, "I'm not wishing things go terribly. On the contrary, I really hope Blake straightens herself the fuck out because you, Yang, are amazing. I just want you to know that, whatever happens, you still have me." 

Yang beamed at him. Yes, she felt safe with Neptune and grateful and happy. The doubts still lingered in her mind, but her heart had grown stronger and hope seemed far kinder this time. Sometimes things were bound to go wrong, but at least something else was right and rooting for her. 

"As a friend, most definitely." Neptune added with a nervous smile. 

"I know." Yang sighed and smiled. "And thank you, Neptune. I appreciate the invitation, the hope and the kindness. I hope things work out for you too... You know... on the  _ blonde  _ front." 

Neptune shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from Yang with a slight smile on his face, much calmer and less-troubled than before, "Oh, Yang, I'm afraid there is no time for forbidden romance in a modern-day revolution for our rights to education and keeping a roof over our heads. But you know what, I hope everything works out too. I'll see you around, yeah?" 

"Most definitely." 

With  their last smiles and sweeter goodbyes, Neptune left and Yang returned to  Noola's . Ms. Delaney looked up and asked how she was. Yang just smiled and said that they talked about school. Before her boss could ask anything more, Yang had excused herself to clean the grooming area. 

When she was out of Ms. Delaney's line of sight, Yang took out her Scroll and smiled at the three messages Blake had sent her throughout her entire lunch break. 

Yang could never truly shake the feeling of doubt and suspicion against Blake, but she had to at least try because there ha d to be a reason why Blake seemed eager to talk to her today and why she was partly nervous and partly excited about tonight. Yang could only wish that it was for a good reason. Because what else could she do? 

Tonight, Yang would go to that date and be the best she can be and be patient with Blake and talk to her and get to know her. Tonight, she can forego her fears and just take things little by little, one at a time because tomorrow's not coming anytime soon. 

Not while she had a date to prepare for. 

The texting continued until Yang clocked out of work, fifteen minutes earlier at the insistence of Ms. Delaney who wanted Yang to have ample time to  _ gussy up  _ and walk into the room and steal everyone's breaths away. There was also the mention of her dying yellow hatchback and how fashionably late was sometimes  **_ just  _ ** simply  late. 

I'm going to head back to my place to get changed.    
I'll text you when I'm on my way.   
Yang, 5:43 PM

Drive safe.    
Blake, 5:43 PM

Yang held her Scroll to her chest as she buckled her seatbelt with one hand. Her heart was beating fast and her cheeks were beginning to hurt. She gently placed the device on the passenger's seat and she turned the radio on. Synthesizers, extra drum beats and cheesy lyrics? 

_ This is my jam.  _

She turned the music up, louder until the bass rattled her windows. She twisted her key in the ignition and her car roared to life in one go — **_ This was a good sign! _ **

"Oh, ah, it's magic!" Yang sang as she cruised along down the road, heading straight for home. She bopped her head and twisted about, dancing in her little way just to keep herself from shaking. 

She was nervous. 

She was excited. 

She had never been this happy in a really long time. 

She smiled at the red light in front of her, patiently waiting for it to turn green. She had time. She would walk up into her apartment, muss up Ruby's hair, prepare a quick dinner for  her  — if she hadn't already done that herself — and then she would shower and pick out her best clothes. 

_ Oh, man. What am I going to wear?  _

Suddenly the green light wouldn't come sooner and Yang prayed that Ruby had prepared her own dinner. Picking out the right thing to wear for a first date was something Yang should have thought about right after she had said yes. 

She stepped on the accelerator and started to remember the clothes in her closet. She still had that black mini skirt.  _ Oh shit, when did I last wash it though? _ Would it be quite alright to show up in a leather jacket?  _ Would I look like a potential criminal or something?  _ She could always just search for first date outfits on the Internet. 

_ Why is this  _ **_ so hard? _ **

She could just wear  ** that  ** dress. 

_ No.  _

It was simple, fit nicely and it looked like she could wear it on any occasion. 

_ Nope. Nope.  _

It did look a little open, especially in the front and a little bit on the back area. Then there was the matter of what shoes to wear. 

As soon as Yang had parked her car in front of her apartment building, she made a run for the front door, moving past an oblivious Mr.  Dormitorio , up the stairs, two at time. She could barely feel her heart pounding or the beads of sweat running down the back of her neck. 

She wasn't sure if she had shoes to match with the dress. 

Or maybe she could just wear that baby blue chiffon shirt she had, wear some jeans and her boots. That wouldn't look too casual, right? She didn't want Blake to think that she didn't care too much. She could always ask Pyrrha, but then that giant saint would tell her to be herself and that wasn't really the best advice when it was easier to be someone else. 

She was breathless by the time she reached her floor. She jogged to the front door, the key missing the hole a couple of times. She could wear that chiffon shirt with the mini skirt and her boots. It would look like her usual Yang-self, but a little bit  _ proper- _ _ er _ _?  _

There was still the matter with her hair, about how she could actually get the strands to stop sticking in every direction. 

When Yang had finally pushed the door open, she found Ruby standing in the doorway. Yang mussed her hair as she passed by her, stopping only after she realized that her little sister hadn't been alone. 

"Where have you been?" Raven  Branwen was seated in the dining area, a cigarette between her lips and a scowl on her face. 


	17. Tired of This Triangle

Yang quickly pulled her hand off of Ruby’s head, like a child who had just been caught eating sweets  right before dinner. Fortunately, Ruby had just silently fixed her hair and kept her head down. 

Raven  Branwen did not look at all too happy with this situation and she seemed as if she was about to begin her tirade against her daughter and this little girl despite this being  _ Yang’s  _ home. For her part, Yang had no intention of letting her mother verbally attack her little sister. 

After all, there was a line. 

“Well, at least you’re back.” Raven got up from her seat as she threw the cigarette butt into the sink, “Doesn’t matter where you’ve been.” 

“I was at work.” Yang dropped her bag on the floor and rushed to the sink, turning the faucet on so the water could extinguish the  damned thing , “I keep sending you my work schedule whenever something changes.” 

“You still work at that dog shop?” Raven actually looked affronted, like she had had her hopes and dreams crushed and spat on. 

" Noola's , yeah." Yang picked up the soaked cigarette butt and threw it into the trash bin beneath the sink. She could feel the tension between  _ all  _ of them.  T he mere idea of having her mother and her half-sister in one room was enough to make her want to vomit. She could feel Ruby wanting to melt into the floor, wanting to distance herself from  a woman who had always been openly hostile towards her ex-husband's new wife and daughter.

Yang silently approached her little sister, gently held her by the shoulder and whispered for the girl to head to her room. She didn’t need to tell Ruby twice. Her sister kept her  eyes glued to her feet as she shuffled towards her bedroom, locking the door as it closed behind her. 

Yang waited a couple more seconds, hoping that Ruby would pop her earphones in or put some music on to drown out whatever conversation Raven wanted to have with her. 

“What did you want, mom?” Yang looked at Raven. 

Raven glared at Yang, standing straight as a board to tower over her daughter. Yang was tall, but Raven  had always been  _ more _ and immensely intimidating . If Yang hadn’t inherited her father’s smile or the softness of his expressions, maybe she would have just been a shorter, blonde version of her mother. 

She was surprised when Raven s uddenly s at herself down and drummed her fingers on the table, “Imagine my surprise when I come knocking on your door to find the  ghost __ of Summer Rose opening it for me.” 

Yang felt awkward in her own dining area, standing around like a bumbling buffoon or a skittish horse, afraid to make sudden movements in  the off-chance she  would knock  things down. No, not while her mother was looking. Carefully, she made her way to the sink where she wiped the wet ash away. 

“My friend called to inform me that the Lambda Fraternity, a very powerful fraternity with members  ** all around  ** Remnant,” Raven began and Yang could feel the misfortune forming into words, “did not receive an apology letter from my daughter for disrupting a social function, hurting two of their respectable members and destroying their furniture.” 

She spun on her heel and faced her mother, eyes ready to pop out at any moment. This was ridiculous. She  ** had  ** sent the email and the Lambda boys hadn’t bothered her again afterwards. That should have been it. 

But it wasn’t. 

_ When had life ever been so simple? _

If Raven hadn’t paid the damages off, Yang would have apologized on  _ her own _ terms and maybe she would have gotten a few words in with their leader or councilor or president or whatever fraternity leaders are called. She would have even set her own meeting and deadlines. 

But her mother had been quick to  “ _ clean up _ _ ” _ __ her mess without  even  consulting her. 

She bristled and fumbled with the hem of her shirt, “I did. Y -y eah, it was probably a few hours late, but I sent the stupid apology letter and didn’t hear back. What else was I supposed to do?” 

“Make sure they received it.” Raven said matter-of-factly, pulling a new cigarette from her bag, “Or you should have gone directly to them, set up a meeting and apologized in person like a responsible girl would.” 

“Yeah right.” Yang mumbled as she rolled her eyes. 

Raven was quick to stand and grab her by the arm, pulling her close until Yang could smell the nicotine in her mother’s lungs. The unlit cigarette fell from Raven’s lips as she  gritted her teeth, her grip tightening around Yang’s arm. 

“Do you think this is a game?” she sneered, “I had asked you to do something so simple, even a dumb dog could do it.” 

Yang managed to release herself from Raven’s grip, recoiling from her touch as she circled around the kitchen to stand a good two feet away from her mother. Raven, face twisted in fury, remained where she stood but followed Yang with her  crimson  eyes. 

“You embarrassed me, Yang.” Raven continued, “Is this the thanks I get? You or your father wouldn’t even have been able to afford going to this prestigious university. Out of love and kindness, I handled your school fees and this is how you repay me? By dragging my name and faith in the mud?” 

“I  ** sent  ** the letter.” Yang repeated, but her words had fallen on deaf ears, “Look, I’ll just go talk to —”

“Oh, don’t worry your little brain out, Yang.” Raven quickly returned to the table and fished another cigarette out of her bag, “I’ve already spoken with my friend, Mr. Arthur Taurus, and he has agreed to listen to your petty excuses and to make sure that you don’t fuck this one up, I’m coming with you.” 

Yang frowned as Raven lit the cigarette. She turned away, looking out the window, over her view of the Vale skyline. The rain stopped but the sun was beginning to set. She thought about texting Blake that she would be late. Getting Raven to leave as soon as possible would mean that Yang had to cooperate. 

Raven knew that too. 

“Alright.” Yang sighed, “Just tell me when.” 

“Tonight.” 

Yang whirled her head around, jaw dropped as she stared at her mother. 

“ ** Tonight?” ** Yang could feel the wind getting knocked out of her, “What? Are you— I— I can’t. I need to— I have some—”

“You have no say in this matter.” Raven breathed in the cigarette, blowing smoke into Yang’s face, “Just go get dressed and this will all be over really soon. I have  other plans too, but thanks to you, I had to cancel and drive all the way here.” 

“Can’t you just reschedule?” Yang couldn’t keep the desperation from her voice, fanning the smoke from her face, “I can talk to Ad—”

“Why are you even  arguing ?” Raven glared at her, putting the cigarette out  over the tabletop, “I went out of my way to help you with your problems. Go get dressed, young lady, pick out a nice dress and we’ll get to work on sorting everything out.” 

Yang quickly shut her mouth and watched as her mother adjusted herself in her seat, fishing for her Scroll and scowling at the device. She wanted to grab Raven by the shoulders and push her out of her apartment, out of Vale and out of her life. She was angry. Raven had always made Yang feel useless and  how helpless she was . She had left Yang alone to do as she pleased and all Yang ever wanted was to at least feel like she was  **_ someone’s  _ ** daughter, but Raven had always been unkind. 

This time, Raven was right. 

Somewhat. 

Yang couldn’t afford to pay for college on her  own —  a bitter truth that was slowly weighing down on her  — and Raven was never one for empty threats. She didn’t even need to say it for Yang to put two and two together; if Yang wouldn’t come with her to this joke of an apology, then Raven would take away the only thing she had ever given that Yang actually really liked. 

Before her mother could say anything more , Yang turned on her heel and rushed to her bedroom door, glancing at Ruby’s and hoping she was okay. She rummaged for the only good dress she had in her closet and slipped into it, feeling the discomfort all around her stomach, her thighs and her shoulders. She stared at herself in the mirror and only felt awkward. 

She hadn’t worn this white dress since her first formal party in Beacon and it felt a little tight around her sides. It felt shorter, the hem brushing against her thigh. The exposed back did nothing to quell her insecurities and Yang began to regret every single fast food she had consumed in the last year. 

She brushed her hair as best as she could, but she abandoned all hope of ever looking like a respectable young woman after the third stroke. She sighed as she sat on her bed and stared at the reflection of her bare feet. 

Yang reached for her  discarded jeans and pulled her wallet and Scroll out. She turned on the display and frowned at the clock. 7:18 PM. Her frown had only deepened at the sight of four unread messages. She had a sinking feeling of who they were from. 

There was a knock on the door, “Yang, what is taking you so long? Hurry  ** up ** !” 

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Yang felt her fury returning in quick breaths. She calmed herself and unlocked her Scroll, feeling her heart break from every single message that Blake had sent her. 

I’m leaving now. Traffic’s usually heavy   
after 6:30.   
Blake, 6:19 PM

And I’m stuck in Pratchett Ave. I’ll probably   
be a little late.    
Blake, 6:23 PM

Cordova St. Is jammed too but I think I can   
make it to Soba Station by 7:30. Might be    
five or ten minutes late.    
Blake, 6:49 PM

Hey, where areyou? Are you there or   
are you stuck in traffic too?   
Blake, 6:51 PM

There was another knock on her door, more rough and impatient this time, “Come out here this instant. We have to leave now or we’ll be late. Get out.” 

Yang scurried about her bedroom, trying to find a decent-looking bag she could put her wallet and Scroll into. Raven hadn’t left her door. Yang quickened her search to the sound of her mother complaining about her living conditions, voicing out her distaste for Yang’s apartment, how crowded it was and how rickety most of the furniture was. 

When Raven began her spiel about how foolish Yang was to  _ take in Summer’s daughter,  _ Yang slipped her belongings into a white clutch and practically shoved her feet into the only pair of heels she owned. She almost ran into her mother in her rush and she only stopped to be scrutinized. 

She could feel her mother’s eyes poring over her, like a vulture. Yang kept herself from fidgeting or from fixing anything. That would only serve to draw attention to whatever discomfort she felt. 

“That dress looks cheap, but I guess it’ll have to do.” Raven walked  back to the kitchen, her voice echoing in the silence of the apartment, “You ought to wear dresses with lower cuts. You’ll get a boyfriend sooner if you show a little bit more. If you lose a little bit more weight, stop wearing your disgusting clothes and start acting like a lady, all the boys will come running.”

Yang rolled her eyes, groaned and followed in Raven’s footsteps, wobbling about and struggling to  keep her  balance. Raven stopped in her tracks and stared down at Yang, who almost tripped, but she remained upright. Raven gave her another once over, her eyes landing on Yang’s breasts. 

“Oh, but if you lose a lot of weight, then maybe your boobs might shrink.” she mumbled and then she sighed, “This is fine. You may be as  _ unrefined  _ as your father, but at least you look half as decent as me.” 

It felt like she was being tugged on a leash. Raven headed straight for the front door, eyes still glued to her Scroll with half-smiles. Yang marched towards Ruby’s room instead, knocking on the door as she watched her mother shift her weight. 

The door opened a crack and Yang shivered at the sight of one lone silver eye. For a moment, she thought of Summer, remembered those ridiculous games of peek-a-boo well into her middle school years. It had all been for Ruby’s enjoyment, but Summer had never failed to at least try  making Yang smile . 

_ Summer Rose.  _

_ “ _ I’m really sorry, Ruby.” Yang whispered, “I’m going to  message  Pyrrha and get her to watch you for a little while. I don’t want you here alone again.” 

Ruby tried to take a peek at Raven from her disadvantageous view but snapped her eye back at Yang with a deep frown on her  partially visible  lips, “I don’t know how you can stand her.” 

“Yang Xiao Long, get your ass out of here this very instant!” Raven called from the front door. 

Yang rolled her eyes and whispered back to Ruby with what little image of reassurance she could muster despite her irritation, “I’ll be back later, okay, Ruby? I’ll pick you up from Pyrrha’s when I come back. I promise. Just wait for her to knock after I leave, alright? ” 

Before Yang could yank the door closed, Ruby called after her, “You look magnificent, by the way.” 

She stared at her little sister for a moment, trying to process what she had just said. She absentmindedly looked down at herself, at her uncomfortable clothes and the waves of untamed hair that fell over her chest and shoulders. Magnificent was never a word for her, but she felt at ease, if only for a little while, if only for at least one other person. 

With one final smile, Ruby closed the door. Yang did her best not to falter as she rushed to her mother’s side. She bit her tongue when Raven gave her another once-over and swallowed the lump in her throat  when her mother’s frown deepened. 

Yang locked the door behind her and sent off a text to Pyrrha as they shuffled towards the elevator. She didn’t want to argue against  getting into the pungent space . The smell was a torture she would endure over falling down a flight of stairs. And Raven deserve d to suffer a little. 

She ignored a new message that had popped up as she typed. Blake had just arrived at Soba Station, three tables from the entrance , it read . Yang would reply later. Right now, she had to make sure that Ruby could stay over with Pyrrha. 

Hi Pyrrha sorry but can ruby stay with yo   
for a coupleof hours tonihgt?   
Yang, 7:33 PM

“ Oh, great an elevator that smells like sweat.” Raven murmured. 

I assumed so. A classmate of mine told me   
you have a date tonight. I wish you’d tell me    
beforehand though. It’s not like I’d say no.   
Pyrrha Nikos, 7:34 PM

Sorry. : ( change of plans. I”mgoibg outot dinner   
with mymom. She syopped by without letting me   
know and were having dinner with her froends.   
I’m not sure whst time I’ll be back.    
Yang, 7:35 PM

The elevator door opened and Raven was the first to get off. Yang followed, struggling to press the  _ send  _ button in her current state . Her mother threw the front door open and looked around for Yang’s yellow hatchback. She walked up to the curb and waited for a cab instead. Yang didn’t have to ask. She stood behind her mother, looking down at her Scroll as another message had come through. 

Ruby’s with me now. Just text me if you’re on your   
way back. We’ll be up until 11pm. Text me around   
10 okay?   
Pyrrha Nikos, 7:39 PM

Thanks, Pyrrha. I owe you big time. Thank you   
thank you thank you   
Yang, 7:40 PM

“Get in!” Raven hissed. 

Yang looked up to see her mother standing beside a cab, scowling at her. When Yang had moved closer, Raven quickly scooted inside, leaving ample space between the two of them. As Yang slid into her seat,  she bitterly thought  there will never be enough space to divide them. The back of the taxi felt like a small prison cell, suffocating and extremely uncomfortable. 

The fact that her estranged mother was even in town made Yang uncomfortable. 

Tonight was horrible. Yang felt like  vomiting, her head was throbbing. It felt like whiplash. She had no idea how she could ever recover from this dreadful night. 

_ Blake.  _

Yang had waited all this time and she should have known that something was going to get in the way. Something  ** always  ** does. 

Yang wanted to jump out of the moving vehicle, to fling herself into traffic. 

Her Scroll vibrated from another message from Pyrrha, the last one for the meantime, followed closely by another that had only made Yang feel worse. 

Please tell me you’re on your way.   
Blake, 7:42 PM

Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe she and Blake were two pendulums that would never meet. But she could  at least  still save their date. It wouldn’t hurt to try to reschedule, right? Blake would understand. Besides, anything can happen. 

Raven was here and Yang was in a dress. 

_ Right. Anything can happen.  _

Hi Blake. Something came up. It’s a family   
thing. I’m really sorry. I can’t make it tonight.   
Yang, 7:43 PM

Yang frowned at her response as she had pressed  _ send,  _ wishing there was something  ** more  ** that she could say, something that could assure her that everything was going to be alright in the morning, but there was none. All she had was hope and that hope had not been too kind to her in the last three years. 

She typed out another response, one that would show how sorry she was and that she realized the weight of her mistake. She had to be quick and send it while Blake was still even reading the first one. Yang was pretty good at that, milking her last chances. It might not even mean anything in the long run , but this was the only thing she could do at the moment. 

I get that you probably don’t wanna talk anymore.   
I really wanted to go tonight, but this can’t wait.   
Yang, 7:45 PM

With a tired sigh, Yang sent the message, slipped her Scroll back into her clutch and stared out the window. She and Raven didn’t exchange any words throughout the entire ride and Yang had expected to keep her mouth shut the entire night and to just  _ sit and look pretty,  _ like what Raven had always instructed her to do whenever Yang spent weeks with her when she was younger. 

She felt like a doll then and she felt like a doll now. Plastic. Fake. Impossibly beautiful for someone else. 

_ You look magnificent, by the way.  _

Yang smiled. That was the sweetest thing she had heard in the last two hours. It would be the sweetest thing she’ll hear the entire night, she thought bleakly. There will be no other compliments tonight, not ones that were freely given and would mean well. 

The moment she felt movement from her clutch, the cab stopped in front of an old-looking, gigantic building with plenty of windows. There  were vested men standing outside with their hands behind their backs. An older couple passed by them and nonchalantly handed one of them their car keys. 

Raven gently pushed Yang outside as she paid their fare. Yang desperately tried to pull the dress lower, feeling the night air lick at her thighs and cheeks. Autumn was coming too fast and before long, she would have to wear thicker clothes. For a moment, she wondered if Ruby had winter clothes. It was a little bit warmer in Patch, if she recalled correctly. 

Yang took a step forward as soon as the cab door closed. Raven had walked past her, back ramrod straight as she gracefully walked up to the gilded front door. Yang tried to imitate her mother’s posture. Back straight, chest out and head held high. She was slowly getting used to her heels, but she still couldn’t quite match Raven’s brisk pace. 

She was just glad that Raven had stopped in front of a little podium where a woman stood with a slight smile and a slightly stern expression. Yang had caught the name  _ Taurus _ __ and caught the immediate change in the woman’s mood. She ushered Raven into the main hall, leaving Yang to follow them on her own volition. 

This entire place was fancy, for lack of a better, more sophisticated word. The main  hall  was open with dozens of tables sporadically s et all over. There was ample space in between the tables to allow for a little bit of privacy. The high ceiling had really long chandeliers hanging from them and an abstract painting, about three times her size, hung on the wall that had no windows. The maroon cushions of the chairs were lined with golden trimmings. 

Yang felt out of place all of a sudden. Everyone in the room was dressed to the nines. Golden earrings, pearl necklaces and rings worth more than her entire life were flashing and glinting. 

The woman from the front desk brushed past her shoulder. Yang looked up to see Raven wrapping her arms around an older gentleman with a wide smile beneath his bushy gray moustache. Seated beside him with a deep frown was a boy she had seen before. 

Adam, she recalled. 

“And this beautiful young lady must be your daughter...” the older gentleman’s eyes darted  between Raven and Yang, “Uh... Umm, yes  — Yam!” 

Adam scoffed. 

“Yang.” Raven corrected as she let the older gentleman pull out a chair for her, “Yang, please sit with us.”

Yang could feel their eyes on her as she approached. She walked slowly, afraid that she was going to make a fool out of herself if she forgot that she was wearing heels for a minute. She shook the older gentleman’s hand  — Arthur  — her mother had mentioned his name early tonight. She looked to Adam who only smiled and gestured for her to sit. 

The  Tauruses seemed kind, if not a little distant. Both men acted friendly with Raven and Yang, but they avoided addressing each other or speaking directly to each other. Yang had seen this behavior before, between herself and Raven; she could see the slight furrow of Arthur Taurus’ eyebrows and the frown well-hidden beneath his moustache whenever Adam  so much as  moved. 

They had had an argument and Adam, headstrong and defiant, would not budge to the whims of his  probably  overbearing father. At least that was what happened with Yang whenever Raven was around her. Everything Yang did was  never  good enough and now she had resorted to half-trying just to satisfy her mother’s need to  _ fix Yang’s mistakes. _

As soon as the first course was being served, Yang had slipped her Scroll out , swallowed the lump in her throat and opened a text message she wished would contain good news. It was from Blake and she could see the brief response right before she unlocked the device. 

What happened? Is it your sister? Is everything okay?   
Blake, 7:49 PM

Yang considered lying for a moment. A serious matter was excusable and she felt desperate enough to come up with a million excuses that weren’t as petty as  _ going out to dinner with my mother instead.  _ But her guilt weighed heavily in her chest. The past that she thought she had left behind the moment she ran away had caught up to her so suddenly , so relentlessly.

She couldn’t lie to Blake. She didn’t want to lie anymore. 

Yang had to stop running. 

Everything’s fine. Except my mom stopped by   
without warning and demanded I come with her   
to meet her friends. She didn’t give me a choice.   
Yang, 7:51 PM

I’m really sorry, Blake. She’s my mom.   
Yang, 7:52 PM

A hand had found its way on Yang’s knee, soft, warm and  murderous . She looked up to see her mother glaring at her, mouthing for her to put her Scroll away. Yang did as she was instructed and felt relief when Raven took her hand back . 

Yang ate in silence, unless Arthur Taurus asked her questions then she answered politely but  succinctly. I t felt like he had only asked out of courtesy and she had no intention of telling a  stranger certain things about herself. But still, he had asked questions Raven probably hadn’t even bothered to think about since she was born.

_ How was school? _

_ Where do you work?  _

_ Are you being paid well? _

_ Do you have enough time so you can rest in between your job and school? _

_ What’s your major?  _

_ Do you have a boyfriend?  _

_ What are your plans for the next five years? _

_ Are you enjoying yourself?  _

_ Do you like the food?  _

By the end of the main course, Yang felt  somewhat  at ease with Arthur Taurus and his good intentions. Adam had barely looked at her, scowling at his plate instead. 

Yang was beginning to feel anxious. For the last hour and a half  — and they had already talked about a thousand other things  — nobody had mentioned the Lambda party or how she had  _ damaged property  _ and  _ injured innocent members.  _ No, Raven and Arthur barely talked  ** about ** her when they weren’t talking  ** to  ** her. 

Slowly, she was beginning to feel like she had been toyed with. It was a familiar feeling and she was beginning to get mad at herself for not recognizing it sooner. 

But Arthur and Raven seemed content discussing Arthur’s job and the various other people and names that had passed between them. It was  starting to feel like she and Adam didn’t  even  exist. Yang had considered this a free pass to look at her Scroll. Teens do this all the time and Adam looked to be around her age. He must be looking at his Scroll under the table too . 

She snuck a peek as she angled herself so that her lap was a little out of Raven’s sight. There were a couple of messages from Blake and Yang  felt  the warm embrace of  Lady Luck . 

That sucks but I completely understand. My parents   
can be pushy too. Don’t worry about it.    
Blake, 7:58 PM

Maybe tonight just wasn’t a good night. I’m hoping   
we could reschedule? Maybe next Friday?   
Blake, 8:20 PM

Definitely. I’ll make sure my mom won’t be   
here or maybe I’ll just disappear before Friday   
night so she can’t steal me away.   
Yang, 9:19 PM

Yang felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see Adam standing beside her, smiling down at her. She quickly tucked her Scroll back into her clutch as she stared up to meet his eyes. Her neck felt like it was going to break, but thankfully, he bent down closer to whisper in her ear. 

“ Wanna get some air?”

Raven must have heard, “ That’s a wonderful idea! ”

“Why don’t the two of you get to know each other better?” Arthur suggested. 

Yang turned back to see the expectant look on their faces. The moment she had met Raven’s gaze, there was a shift in her mother’s demeanor, a cruel insistence that she knew so well. Yang managed the barest of smiles at the both of them and took Adam’s offer. 

The streets were completely dry by the time Yang had stepped out of the restaurant. Adam wordlessly followed behind, keeping a considerable distance between them. She was grateful for his escape plan and had expected him to ignore her for the next ten minutes, but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and asked if she would like to take a walk around the block. 

Without any other ideas to pass the time, Yang agreed. If Raven had only brought her here as an accessory or an excuse, then Yang would do as she had intended and apologize. Adam Taurus was right here, the  _ leader  _ of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity. He was the one she needed to apologize to  — not her own mother or his father  — and he did seem like a reasonable guy. 

“I take it you had other plans tonight?” Yang laughed nervously. 

Adam looked down at her with a tired expression and shrugged. He clearly did not want to be inside. He clearly had an argument with his father and right now, he clearly didn’t want to talk. 

They both passed by a closed jewelry shop, the kind that sold diamond rings and gold bands. Yang walked on, a little bit faster now as she had managed to learn to walk like a regular girl in her white heels. She realized a little later that Adam had stopped in front of the jewelry store, gazing at the glass. She turned back, not really wanting to brave the streets by herself, but also not willing to leave him behind. After all, she didn’t have to sit through Raven’s open flirtation because of Adam. 

“I’m sorry.” Adam said all of a sudden, eyes still glued to the window. 

Yang stopped in her tracks and waited for him to continue, not quite sure what to do next. Wasn’t  ** she  ** the one who needed to apologize? She thought back to that night at the Lambda House, being hefted and thrown around by Cardin. She was quick, but he was a big brute. He cared so little of the people who were watching and Yang was worried of the rumors that were likely to fly the following morning  — rumors that  ** did  ** spread throughout campus. 

Adam turned to her with a soft smile that had made him look quite dashing, truth be told, “Yeah, my dad dragged me out here to talk. I was supposed to have a serious talk with the boys, but he comes to school and tells me to dress up and be here. I’ve got better things to do than watch him flirt with your mom.” 

Yang laughed. 

“Sorry.” he repeated. 

“I feel the same way.” Yang sighed as she fixed her eyes on a soaked and muddy flier for an electronics store from a different town. 

_ I was supposed to be the one doing all the flirting with the girl of my dreams elsewhere. _

Adam turned his full body towards her. Yang looked up to see the neutral expression on his face. She saw the twitch in his brow and his lips. A  quiet fury flickered in his eyes before he shut them and heaved a heavy sigh. He smiled at her as he gestured for them to continue walking. 

“I’m sorry about what happened the other night.” Yang said after a minute of silence, “I  ** knew  ** I wasn’t supposed to be there and I was about to leave but  — ”

“Forget about that night.” Adam hesitated and looked at her, “Yang, was it? Yang Xiao Long?” 

“Yup.” she nodded, “But I did send a formal apology. It was a little late, but I sent it. It must have just gotten lost or... did you check your Spam folder?” 

Adam laughed, “I got the email, Yang, and I appreciate it. I don’t even understand why you had to apologize. Look, my boys made the mistakes. The party invitations were free for those who wanted to go. Dove shouldn’t have said those things to you and Cardin should have just let you leave in peace .” 

Yang smirked, “Yeah, they were real gentlemen about it.” 

“You can call them assholes.” Adam smiled. 

They walked in amicable silence for a couple of minutes. The Vale nightlife provided a pretty good background music for them. Car horns, speeding cars and loud chatter from passersby. Yang wondered how much longer she had to stay. She briefly stopped to check her Scroll, to see another message from Blake. 

That’s a bit extreme but could work.   
Blake, 9:21 PM

Heyyyy where you at? Maybe I should stop by   
and steal you away instead. ; )   
Blake, 9:36 PM

Sorry coco stole my scroll I decided to catch up   
with her and velvetat the mare:s nest   
Blake, 9:38 PM 

Denton drive? 1037 friel street.   
Yang, 9:44 PM

“Is that Blake?” Adam suddenly asked. 

“Uh... yeah.” Yang pressed her Scroll against her chest and saw the curious expression on his face. 

He shook his head and sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets. A frown stretched across his lips and Adam Taurus looked as if he had the weight of an entire universe on his shoulders. Yang raised a hand to touch his shoulder, to offer some sort of comfort, but he swiftly turned to her with anger blazing in his eyes. 

Yang shivered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and wrapped her arms around herself. Adam looked sinister in the dimness of the streetlights. 

He looked away and the frown returned. He sighed as he pulled his jacket off of his shoulders, straightening the sleeves as he gently wrapped Yang in it. There was the barest of smiles on his face, fleeting and always replaced by  a  sorrow Yang hadn’t seen from someone other than Taiyang Xiao Long. 

“I’m sorry, Yang.” Adam whispered, following a passing car with his eyes, avoiding Yang’s stare. 

“About what?” Yang adjusted the jacket over herself, grabbing onto the lapels to keep it from sliding off of her shoulders. 

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Adam shrugged and sighed once more, “You seem like a really cool girl, crazy, headstrong and an all-around decent person and this just isn’t fair to you. I know you’re going through some stuff right now and I just...” 

Yang waited. She searched his eyes, trying to look past the sadness in them. Adam did his best to avoid her scrutiny. She felt that he didn’t need her sympathy, but she knew helplessness and Adam seemed like he was barely keeping things together. Something was wrong. Yang could feel it in the air. 

Adam  laughed ruefully , shaking his head as he took a step back from Yang, “I  — I’m  ** so  ** mad at you, but I shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t. This isn’t your fault, Yang, and I want to help out. Blake’s made a complete fool of me already. I just can’t stand by and let her do this to you. You don’t deserve this.” 

Yang held her breath and felt her skin crawl. She had known Adam had been interested in Blake. Rumors and hearsay. They spread like wildfire and everyone seemed to be pyromaniacs. But Adam wasn’t a nobody like Yang. People stopped talking after a while and they never held  ** his  ** rejection against him.  Everyone moved on.  He moved on. 

But the sorrow in his eyes... 

“What are you talking about?” Yang forced the words out, pulling Adam’s jacket  tighter around her chest. 

“I heard you asked her out.” Adam frowned at her, “And she turned you down, right? Because she had a boyfriend.” 

“Yeah.” Yang bit her lip. 

_ She lied.  _

_ “ _ She wasn’t lying.” 

Yang’s eyes widened as she turned to meet his at a break-neck speed. Of course, the doubt had been swimming in her conscience for an entire year, but Neptune had told her that there was nothing going on between Blake and Sun. They were friends. He told her. Neptune wouldn’t lie to her. 

Why  did she suddenly  feel like everyone was toying with her? 

No. Neptune wouldn’t lie. 

“I wanted us to go public with our relationship.” 

Yang bit harder. It felt as if she was sucking on her own blood, if there was even any left. Suddenly, her entire body felt clammy, her knees weak and her head was spinning a mile a minute. 

“But my dad doesn’t  _ approve  _ of her  — like it’s the 1700s or something. But you’re not the first one, Yang. She’s done this before. To hurt me. And I  — I love her. I know that I should probably find someone else, but this is love.” 

“ What are you talking about?” Yang repeated, louder this time. 

She felt sick. She felt a bubbling heat in the pit of her stomach. She would have thrown herself to the ground and puked all over the pavement if Adam wasn’t with her, if he didn’t look at her with  such  hopelessness and concern. 

Yang wanted to  go back to her apartment. Consequences be damned. She can deal with Raven some other night, some other day. She had done her part, had apologized. She had a right to be upset. She had a right to be hurt, to feel so sick , to run away.

_ This can’t be true.  _

But Blake lied the first time.

_ She never cared about you, Yang.  _

“ We had a fight two weeks ago, before the party.” Adam held Yang in place, hands over her shoulders. He was practically keeping her from falling down or running away. “I... She wanted me to come out to my father, but I couldn’t. Not now. I have  — There’s just really a lot going on right now. I tried to explain.” 

Yang looked Adam in the eye, forming two and two together. Two weeks ago, before the party. Before that party, Yang was the  orphaned  schmuck who had been rejected, the love-struck loser who decided to ignore every warning sign before her. 

All those mornings in Gender Studies, those moments that made her feel that she had a chance, those moments she  ** wished  ** she had a chance. They were all a lie that she had made herself. Because Blake already had somebody else and he was staring at her with sorrow and pity and it had only made the bile in her throat rise higher and higher. 

Blake changed after that party. Before that, they barely talked, they barely saw each other. Blake had made it blatantly clear that she wanted nothing to do with Yang. She ignored her, gave half-hearted responses and immediately left  Noola’s after she collected Velvet every time she visited . 

Yang glanced down at her Scroll, at the new message that had come in from Blake. This wasn’t the Blake she knew, not that she ever knew her. This Blake was cruel and Yang  had been just a pawn  for her  to hurt Adam. 

Are you at El Grinner’s? That’s close by. It’s a 10 min    
drive from here.   
Blake, 9:49 PM

“I really am sorry, Yang.” Adam’s voice was deep and even. 

Yang simply nodded as she dropped her Scroll back into her clutch. That was all she could do at the moment. Her mind was still reeling and the doubts kept swirling about. She needed to sit down. She couldn’t even find the strength or willpower to walk back to the restaurant, let alone  _ run _ back to her apartment on the other side of town. 

She was grateful for Adam, for his understanding and his  clear-headedness and sympathy. She could do without his pity though. His hand on hers felt like the only thing keeping her from  vomiting . She could feel him guiding her back to the restaurant, but Yang shook him away. 

She shouldn’t be surprised. She should have seen this coming. This wasn’t even the worst thing to happen to her in the last month. This should feel like a pin-prick in the grand scheme of gut punches. 

_ I’ll get over this.  _

This wasn’t the end of the world. 

Adam reached out to her again, ducking to get a better look at her face. No, he would not see her tears. Nobody in this world deserved her tears. Not Adam, not Blake, not her mother, not her father. Nobody. 

“It’s fine.” she said curtly. 

Her toes were beginning to ache in her shoes and reckless courage was beginning to pump through her veins and clouding her judgment. Adam seemed like a decent guy, but she felt sick. He could be lying. She didn’t know him, but why did everything he say make a lot of sense? 

The two of them turned to head back to the restaurant. They walked slowly, both not wanting to return to an eyeful of their parents flirting with each other. Yang was in no mood to deal with Raven at the moment, and to pretend to be a  _ responsible young lady  _ in front of Arthur Taurus, whoever he was to her mother. 

Adam walked next to her, at a considerate distance, but his elbows brushed against hers from time to time and he would lean close to her with each passing step. It felt as if he was  trying to make her feel better, to let her feel like he was listening, like he was there for her, like he was on her side. 

Yang stopped right in front of the jewelry store again, shrinking at the façade of El Grinner’s that stood three buildings away. She  preferred the near-darkness that the closed store offered and the feeling of being far from danger. The alarm bells had gone off and its bone-chilling sound reverberated into her veins, spreading fast and hot towards every limb of her body. 

_ The kitchen’s on fire. _

She leaned against the display glass, pulling Adam’s jacket tight around her , afraid that it might fall off and expose her to the bitter cold. She was already exposed and vulnerable as it  wa s. She looked up at Adam, hands in his pockets and looking at her with genuine concern. She recalled the night of the Lambda party, how he had remained calm after seeing all the damage she and Cardin had caused. 

When everyone had quickly pinned the blame on her, Adam Taurus stood, stopped for one minute and assessed the situation and  let Yang leave the party without  any more drama . It was a damn relief, like rain after a long drought.  Fu ck, even her  ** own friends  ** had suspected that she started the fight and asked later. 

Adam was ... different. She felt safe with him too. Maybe much more than she had ever been with anyone else. 

“I’m sorry.” Yang sighed and smiled as best as she could. 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Adam shrugged, hands back in his pockets, “I worry about you actually. I... It hurts to love  someone so much and feel like nothing to them. It’s been driving me crazy. Especially now with everything going awry at the Lambda House. I feel like I should be the one apologizing to you for that night.” 

He smiled that little smile and it slowly dawned on Yang how charming Adam was. His skin looked soft and smooth and his eyes would crinkle at the slightest smiles. She could see the four o’clock shadow along his jaw, but otherwise, Adam was a well-groomed man. He smelled nice too. He seemed almost like Ren, but not quite like Ren. She compared him to her own father and found that she liked that Adam had little in common with  the great  Taiyang Xiao Long . 

Yang thought that any girl would be so lucky to have Adam Taurus. He seemed like a modern-day prince or white knight or whatever. A hero. A good man. She thought of Blake, of how mysterious she was. Her silence had been genuine disinterest and Yang had been unfortunate enough to garner her cruel attention when she had asked her out. She had turned herself into an option  — a pawn  — in Blake’s twisted ideas of love. 

_ Poor Adam. Poor Sun.  _

**_ Poor Yang.  _ **

_ “ _ I’ve been so caught up with trying to fix an already broken relationship that I neglected my own brothers.” Adam continued, gesturing to stand next to Yang. When she had simply nodded her assent, he leaned about several inches away from her on the display glass. Not too close for them to touch, but not too far for her not to hear him. “We weren’t always a group of aimless young men. We had order and dignity. The Chi Rho Delta Lambda’s mission is to cultivate honorable and inspirational young men to be  useful  members of society.”

Yang laughed a little and tilted her head to look at him, “Then what’s with the solicitation assignments?” 

Adam smiled, “We want society to be more involved too . If we don’t constantly remind our brothers to ask for help  **_ outside  _ ** of the fraternity, then we would be content with our own company and would completely ignore everyone else. Then society would do so as well. ”

Yang hummed, “Makes sense. I think.” 

Adam laughed, “We have donors from generous members from previous  members and other chapters all throughout Sanus, and some even from Anima, but those have been allotted for our basic needs and the members’ scholarships.” 

“ So, since you’re, like, the president or something, you’ve got the full scholarship?” 

Adam stopped for a moment and searched Yang’s face. She felt heat rising to her cheeks the longer he stared. She looked away from him, her eyes falling to the passing cars in front of her instead. It was getting darker by the minute, she realized, and it was getting close to ten o’clock. She would have to text Pyrrha soon to let her know that she’ll be home in an hour, whether Raven approved or not. 

“My  **_ father  _ ** is one of the biggest donors of the Lambda fraternity.” Adam said softly with a roll of his eyes at the mention of his father, “My school fees and his donations are a blur. Since my father pays for several other students’ tuitions, I think it’s fair to consider that I’m not a part of any scholarships. Maybe partially. ”

Yang  looked  back at him for a moment, an excuse to study his face once more. It had been a long time since she felt this way around another human being, let alone a man. She had been... caught up on her attraction to Blake. 

There were other people in Remnant. 

_ This wasn’t the end of  _ _ her _ _ world. _

She smiled and shrugged, “I wish I could get some sort of scholarship. I’m tired of my mom breathing down my neck.” 

Adam paused and studied her again. He pushed himself off the glass display window and openly looked at her. Yang could feel her pulse quicken, suddenly acutely aware of the sweat that formed in the back of her neck. 

She took a step away from Adam, to cool herself a little and laughed, “Do you guys need to keep a certain grade point average or something because I think I can’t get straight A’s with everything going on in my life right now.” 

Adam’s face softened as he smiled, “We just need to host dozens of charity events. We had one a couple of months ago  — a book drive actually. We managed to raise a considerable amount of money to donate to Beacon’s libraries. There  are smaller fundraisers too. Some to have the House repaired, some to have adequate parking spaces or to provide discounts for text books.” 

“You guys should do a calendar shoot or something.” Yang laughed and it had only grown hotter. 

She pulled herself away from the glass window, wobbled as she did so. Adam was quick to keep her steady, hands gentle on her shoulder and elbow as he tried to keep his jacket on Yang. She tried to slip out of it, wanting to feel the harsh kiss of the  coming  winter chill against her heating skin, but she was locked in his gaze. 

It wasn’t pity that she had seen in his eyes earlier. It was concern, and pain and the want to  _ save  _ her. 

He smiled and Yang could feel her heart stop a little, “You know, that’s a pretty good idea. It might make for a good year-end fundraiser for feeding programs for the winter. Thanks, Yang.” 

Yang shook her head and opened her clutch to retrieve her Scroll, “It  — it’s not a problem. I’m just doing what I can for society.” 

“Maybe by then, the fighting’s  gonna stop and every single brother is going to start cooperating.” 

Yang turned to him and frowned, “Yeah, I heard about the in-house fighting, something about scholarships being taken away?”

Adam sighed for the nth time that night, eyes furrowed and a frown that could have been cemented onto his lips, “I feel like the Lambda brothers are jinxed. The last couple of charity events we’ve been organizing didn’t meet the quota, missing funds and some unsavory behavior. All that has been garnering negative feedback from sponsors, donors and alumni. The most recent one was the book drive  I mentioned earlier .

“When it was time to balance our accounts, we found several minor discrepancies that turned into a giant nightmare. When my father found out, he was  ** so  ** ready to stop sponsoring the fraternity. I panicked. ” Adam cleared his throat and stared into the distance, “I should’ve ended it with Blake there and then. I thought we could make this work, but I have a responsibility to the fraternity, to my brothers. There’s an on-going investigation and  it's been riling us all up, doubting each other, fighting arguing and now some of the boys are planning to take over control  — that’s not the problem, Yang.” 

Yang watched as Adam worked his jaw and clenched his fists. She had gotten a good look at Adam’s face for the first time in the entire night, staring at the worry lines and the dark circles beneath his eyes. His shirt was crumpled and his hair lay flat and dry on his head. 

He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in weeks : troubled, stressed. 

If Yang were to turn around and look at her reflection in the glass window, she might see the same worn out appearance. Her father’s death, taking care of Ruby, Raven deciding she needed to be more present in Yang’s life, the rumors, the fights, the work and school and Neptune and Blake and the million little things that keep pulling her down. 

“I never thought the new initiate would even stoke the fire.” he laughed bitterly, “That welcome party was to get everyone in a good mood and now this John guy is taking advantage of the situation and convincing everyone to kick  ** me  ** out.” 

Jaune Arc, the boy she had accompanied to the party to look for a girl he never found. Instead, he found friends  — _ brothers.  _ Jaune wasn’t exactly the most charming of people and he seemed a little overbearing and a little too eager to impress, but he meant well. She told Adam so. 

But what did Yang know about what went on inside the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House? She shouldn’t even involve herself in their problems considering she had a mountain of her own to drown in , but she cared about her friends. She cared about Neptune and Jaune; she was worried about Adam and the responsibilities he seemed to have and a part of her worried about Sun too. 

_ Fellow pawns in a dark, dark game of lies.  _

“You should spend a little bit more time with your brothers.” Yang suggested, “Carve out a little bit of it since you said you managed to convince your dad not to stop funding you guys. Your dad seems like a pretty understanding guy, difficult, but maybe understanding.” 

Adam laughed, “Yeah, he kind of is. But he’s pretty okay once he  _ actually _ listens.” 

“Well, there’s that, then!” Yang nodded with an air of finality. 

Adam frowned at her, “There’s still your friend, John. It’d be easier to kick him out instead before he turns everything I’ve worked hard for inside out, but that’s not fair. But he’s spreading some really nasty rumors to get the rest of the fraternity to vote me out.”

They looked into  each other’s eyes for a moment. 

The world seemed to crawl all around Yang, whispering and murmuring, passing by. This air between herself and Adam was the safest and calmest place she had ever been in a while and it was honestly a little  addicting. For a moment, she had forgotten the heartache she felt and the crushing feeling of her responsibilities. 

And there it was. 

She and Adam were the same; two similar people on different universes, not complete opposites, but not completely on the same wavelength. Yang felt warmth pooling in her chest where it should have hurt. She had never found a kindred spirit before and her heart began to pound the longer she locked eyes with him. 

“I know how you feel.” Yang said softly, inching closer to him. 

“I can’t leave, Yang. The fraternity is going to fall  apart  without me.” Adam pretended to shift his weight, moving somewhat closer to Yang, “My dad will be upset with that and he will most definitely refuse to continue sponsoring. Who’s going to pay for the housing and the scholarships then? If Arthur Taurus withdraws his support, the rest of the alumni will eventually do the same. We won’t survive.” 

She tore her eyes away for a moment, the intensity of his gaze a little too overwhelming. She wasn’t ready for... whatever this was. Not so soon. She hadn’t even had enough  ** minutes  ** to let tonight’s events sink in. 

Yang cleared her throat and awkwardly placed a hand on his forearm, the one that was closest to her, “Look, I’ll talk to  Jaune . He’s probably just in over his head, but I do believe that you should talk to him too.  Talk to  **_ all  _ ** of your fellow fraternity friends.” 

And Yang never thought she’d ever see a smile so beautiful. It was small, like the kinds he had been shooting at her the entire night, but this one looked a little more hopeful, a little less troubled. She flustered beneath its weight and all she could do was attempt to smile back at him. 

“Get away from her!” 

Yang jumped in surprise. She and Adam quickly turned, behind Yang,  to  where Blake stood with Velvet and Coco by her side. All three girls wore an expression of confusion and anger, eyes darting between Yang and Adam in a state that almost seemed like intimacy. 

It took one whole second for Yang to process Blake’s presence and appearance. She looked hostile and wild, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. She looked both scared and angry at the same time, fists clenched beside her and one arm being held back by the saintly Velvet  Scarlatina . 

All of the night’s hurt came flooding back  — the lies, the false hope, how she had made Yang believe that finally,  ** fucking finally  ** her feelings were returned, that she liked her back. It had all been a trick, a wicked scheme to get back at a secret boyfriend who neglected her. 

_ Holy fuck that sounds so stupid. _

If she knew Blake any better, Yang would have at least asked or listened, but that was it. She didn’t know Blake. She never knew her at all. She had always been the fleeting girl of her dreams, gone in the morning, like a siren’s song that lured Yang to her doom. 

But that little part of her, buried inside, the girl who had plucked up the courage to ask her one uneventful morning to dinner  — that girl wanted to crash and burn. 

Adam firmly planted himself in front of Yang, shielding her from Blake as he tried to placate them all, “Blake,  darli — ”

“Don’t you  ** dare  ** call me darling!” Blake shouted despite her voice breaking.

“Can we please talk about this?” Adam pleaded, “Blake, there’s no need to involve people into this. I forgive you, darling.” 

“Fucking asshole!” Coco cried out. 

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat and placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. He turned to look at her, ignoring Coco’s curses and Blake’s fury. She cleared her throat and tried to hide herself away from the dream that had played her a fool. “I’m sorry. I can’t — I’m going to head back  inside. ” 

“ I’m sorry, Yang.” Adam whispered as he squeezed Yang’s shoulder, “I just need to talk to her. I’ll catch up with you in a little bit.” 

Yang simply nodded. She turned on her heel, praying she wouldn’t fall on her face as she marched right back to the restaurant. That wasn’t her place. She had no business getting in between Blake and Adam. Seeing Blake  there and knowing her intentions felt like a smack of betrayal, fresh on her skin. She had to stay away. She needed time to process this. 

_ Why is everything falling apart?  _

She passed by the men in their vests as they nodded at her. When one of them had opened the front door for her, she quickly slipped inside, welcoming the soft chatter and obnoxious giggles from inside, mixed with the sounds of silverware scratching against plates. She almost ran into Arthur Taurus as he escorted h er mother out. 

“Oh, there you are.” Raven kept her voice even, but Yang could see the appalled look on her face, “It’s time to head home, sweetheart.” 

“Where’s my son?” Arthur looked over Yang’s shoulder. 

“He’s talking with a few friends from school.” Yang shrugged. 

They both looked at Yang from head to toe, noting Adam’s jacket over her shoulders. They shrugged and quickly turned to themselves, Raven practically throwing herself on him as she murmured into his ear with a teasing tone, “This has been a lovely evening. Thank you for taking time off from your busy schedule to meet with us. We are very grateful for everything.” 

Yang nodded as Arthur turned to beam at both of them and with a slight blush on his face, he turned to Raven alone, “Don’t worry. It was a treat to have been graced by the presence of  ** two  ** beautiful women.” 

The three of them made their way out of the restaurant. Yang bit her lip and looked over towards the jewelry shop, hoping and praying that Blake, Coco and Velvet had already left. Worst of all was to see Blake and Adam making up. Whatever the outcome, Yang wanted to just fling herself into the next cab and rush back to her apartment.

She had a life to get back to and a part of her world to leave behind.

Adam was making his way back to the restaurant, waving to them with a pained look on his face. Blake and her  friends were  nowhere to be found. He was graceful in his heartbroken stride, something Yang wished she could imitate. Instead she was this wobbling mess who couldn’t find the energy to even smile anymore. 

“Where were you?” Arthur’s voice was suddenly mildly threatening as he clapped Adam on the shoulder,  “Why wa — ” 

“It’s nothing, dad.” Adam sighed and shrugged. 

“We hate to leave you, but my son and I have a lot of things to discuss.” Arthur looked at Yang and Raven. 

“I understand completely.” Raven giggled like a high school girl, “Yang and I will just catch a cab home while you boys go on and enjoy yourselves.” 

Adam scoffed as he turned to the street, hailing a passing cab for the two women. Yang walked up to him, slipping his jacket off of her shoulders and felt the cold prickle at her skin. Adam kept his eyes locked on Yang’s as he took his jacket back. 

“I just got her to leave without making a scene.” Adam whispered to her. 

Yang nodded. She watched as a cab stopped in front of them. All four of them bid their goodbyes, kissed each other’s cheeks and exchanged half-hugs before Yang and Raven slid into the backseat of the cab. 

The two men st ood o n the curb as they watch the cab drive away. Yang took one final look back at them to see Adam force himself to smile. She watched as he sighed, shoulders sagging as he turned to his father. Arthur quickly scowled at his son and they walked off towards the opposite direction. 

As soon as they were a  little ways from the restaurant and Yang noted that Raven had no intention to speak with her for the rest of the ride back to her  apartment, Yang took out her Scroll and frowned at her unread messages. 

I’m on my way. We can talk for a couple minutes. Then   
I’ll head straight home.    
Blake, 9:57 PM

Hey, Yang, you know what time you’d be back? Ruby   
and I are watching some TV. It’s getting late. Just   
asking. No need to rush.    
Pyrrha Nikos, 10:03 PM

Yang sighed and felt the heat rising again, up to her eyeballs. 

She couldn’t cry  — not that she even  **_ should _ ** — No, she had other things to worry about. She had been so blinded by this dating thing, this _ feelings  _ thing. She should have realized that, right now, she wasn’t in a proper state to consider her dating options. 

But she waited so, so long for this night. 

And the universe responded. 

Sorry. I’m already on my way home. I owe you   
big time, Pyrrha. Thank you so so much.   
Yang, 10:17 PM

She sighed as quietly as she could, not wanting to attract her mother’s attention. Yang never realized how exhausting it would feel to be pulled in different directions, how heartbreaking it really was to have trusted your heart  — despite the alarm bells telling you to turn back, head for the hills, the kitchen is definitely on fire, the entire house was burning. 

But Yang had always been a fighter. The world had told her to back down, to remain a broken girl who put others first, but she fought. She stood up for herself, she spoke of her emotions and she had demanded to be loved and respected. S he was a runner in this dreary town with the passing cars, flashing neon lights and lonely streets that crisscrossed into networks that housed others like her.

Runners. 

Losers. 

Mourners. 

It was a good thing that Raven had paid for their fare. The cab had stopped right in front of her apartment building. The driver had even remarked on the yellow  _ scrapheap _ that parked nearby. Yang ignored him. 

She stepped out  o nto the curb and made her way to the front door, fishing for her keys as she ascended the steps. She was more confident in her walk now, having mastered how to balance herself in these  fucking  heels. Her toes were throbbing and she could feel some stinging  around her ankles. 

The trip back to her floor was spent in silence too. Raven was somewhat pleased, but Yang could tell that she was still a little pissed about something. Yang wondered why Raven was still here, wondered why she had even gotten out of the cab with her when she could have just gone straight to her hotel room. 

Raven was tapping her foot, arms folded over her body and fingers tapping her forearm. She must be dying for a smoke right now. But Yang didn’t care. Raven could be screaming her ears off and Yang still wouldn’t find enough willpower to even care or try to defend herself. 

Everything had fallen apart. Yes, she could pick every little piece up and put herself back together, but this pain, this debilitating pain, this tight hold around her heart — It felt like her entire life was being snuffed out of her, like her blood boiled through her veins and all she could do was gasp for air that would never be enough.

She remained stoic as they stepped out of the pungent elevator, the clicking of their heels muffled by the dirty carpet of the hall. Yang headed straight for Room 409, but had been stopped by a tight grip around her shoulder, nails digging into her skin as she was pulled to turn around. 

“Well, that went better than I had expected.” Raven said gruffly, “ You did a fine job of acting like a civilized person tonight. Well done. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” 

“I did what you wanted.” Yang said through gritted teeth, ignoring her mother’s hand on her shoulder, “Everything’s resolved now, isn’t it? I think  it’s time to say goodnight.” 

“For now.” Raven released Yang and glared at her, “You’ve been distracted lately. Never answering my calls, embarrassing me with your dumb behavior, hurting those poor boys?” 

“I get it, mom.” 

“No, you don’t. This is all because of that little...  _ f-freeloading  _ child.” 

“What does Ruby have to do anything with this?” 

“You’ve been doing fine without her, that’s for sure. She’s a bad influence on you. You can’t handle the responsibility of taking care of a child. You can barely take care of yourself. I had to come all this way to d e fuse this situation and you’re supposed to be a grown woman? Don’t even kid yourself.” 

Yang felt a lump in her throat. She wasn’t sure if she should touch her mother or if she should just barrel past her, open her door and slam it in Raven’s face. But Raven was wrong, this time , and Yang had no choice anyway . She signed the stupid document.  ** She  ** was Ruby’s guardian.  ** She  ** was the only family  Ruby had left. 

Well, at least until this  _ Liz  _ answers Ozpin’s goddamn calls and emails. 

“She doesn’t have anybody else.” Yang lied. 

“She’s none of your concern.” Raven said so matter-of-factly that Yang wondered if her mother even considered Ruby an actual living, breathing human being, “Send her back to Patch or whatever.” 

“She’s my sister!” Yang raised her voice and took one intimidating step closer, a finger  raised at Raven, “ I signed a stupid document that says  ** I  ** should be taking care of her for the time being. I’m not about to abandon her the way you left me with dad.” 

Raven’s eyes widened and she quickly grabbed Yang by the wrist, “You listen to me,  you insolent child. I’m doing everything I can to make sure  ** you ** don’t end up as worthless as your father because you sure seem to be heading in that direction. You’re only going to ruin both your lives. You give her back. I don’t care where or to whoever. It’s either her or you.” 

Yang bit her lip and tried to pull her hand away. She felt the anger bubbling in her stomach, trying to push its way out through a scream or through tears that Yang adamantly fought to keep at bay. Raven finally let her wrist go and turned around to leave. 

“Your future’s not a difficult decision, Yang, even for you. You have two weeks.” Raven stood in front of the elevator, “You would do well to remember that you’re even in college because of me. I can take that away just as easily.” 

Yang curled her hand into a fist, ready to punch a hole into the wall or her door, but she raised it to her mouth instead and bit down on her knuckle. Raven had disappeared, to slink back into her mysterious life and never to be heard from unless she had done something right or wrong. Yang took deep breaths and shut her eyes. Her other hand had grabbed onto the hem of her dress. She wanted to tear her hair out, but instead she repeatedly banged her head on the wall next to her door. 

When Yang had finally felt herself calm enough to at least put her anger on hold, she knocked on Pyrrha’s door. It was almost eleven o’clock now and her neighbor had already been kind enough to let Ruby stay with her without prior notice. Yang didn’t want to overstay her welcome. 

She sighed and forced herself to look calm as she waited for Pyrrha to answer. After a beat or two, Yang was welcomed by Pyrrha’s tired smile. Ruby poked her head out to look at Yang. Her sister bid Pyrrha goodnight and rushed out into the hall and into their apartment without so much as a single word for Yang. 

“Thank you, thank you, Pyrrha.” Yang whispered, her throat suddenly feeling scratchy from all the exertion, “I swear I owe you. I don’t even know how I can repay you.” 

“It’s fine, Yang.” Pyrrha said softly, worry creasing over her face, “Just... go get some sleep, okay?” 

Yang blinked in surprised, “Well, if you ever need any — ”

“I’ll just knock.” Pyrrha smiled  one last time, stepping back behind her door, “You look wonderful, by the way.” 

“Oh,  th -thanks... I guess?” 

“Goodnight, Yang.” 

Yang sighed the moment Pyrrha closed her door. She turned to her own apartment, at her own door that Ruby had left slightly ajar. She locked it as soon as she had gotten in. She passed by Ruby’s door and entertained the thought of talking to her, but Yang was exhausted from the cycle of feelings that  plagued her in the last five hours alone; not to mention her mother’s parting words for her. 

Maybe she could talk to Ruby in the morning, when they’ve all had a good night’s sleep. 


	18. Holding This Moment For You

The entire weekend seemed to have come and gone and before she knew it, it was already Monday. Yang had spent Sunday curled up in front of the TV with Ruby sitting beside her. Saturday evening apparently didn't happen. Or at least they silently agreed on that. 

She went to Beacon, went to her classes, almost missed one and went straight to  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers. She and Velvet had only exchanged formalities and discussed work briefly. Saturday night was never brought up at all. Not the date that didn’t happen, not how they all stood there on the street, not the things that Adam had said to her. 

Fortunate for Yang who did not want to talk about  any of it anyway. 

But e very now and then she wondered it if did happen or if it had been a product of her overzealous paranoia and her uselessly hopeful heart. 

She didn't even  want to think about it. The last time  she thought about everything that had happened that night , she had felt the hurt and the anger so profusely that she had broken a plate early  that morning. Ruby snapped out of her  own  near-catatonic state, rushing out of her bedroom to see her older sister grumbling at the broken pieces scattered on the floor. 

Blake lied. Or rather, Blake didn’t lie, but most of last week had made Yang feel like damn fool. A hopeful, naïve fool who should have known better. Yang Xiao Long was an airhead after all. 

Now Yang had to work an extra hour with Velvet, dancing around each other and  they both knew, deep down, that Saturday night  ** did ** happen, that she had  cancelled on their date, that Yang was instead stuck with her mother and her friends, and that Yang was caught sharing a moment with Blake's real boyfriend. 

This was the stuff of daytime telenovelas, except none of them wanted to confront it. 

The awkward dancing continued in the grooming area. The two of them were to give the full treatment to a great Dane named Bob and water excited him. Basically, Velvet did all of the shampooing, the washing, the drying and all while Yang held him and kept him from eating the suds. By the end of the ordeal, Yang was soaked. But at least Bob the great Dane was fresh and clean. 

There was no music in the air. Not today. Broken hearts and rattled minds need only silence. All of the love songs were either giddy and offensively happy or downright disastrous. Yang felt neither. She felt defeated and tired. 

Velvet, for what remained of their overlapping hour together, seemed as if she wanted to talk to Yang about something, most likely  about  what happened. She would raise her hand or turn to Yang, but she would chicken out at the last minute and pretend to do inventory or clean up the already clean grooming area. Yang didn't try to ask or pry. She was furious at Blake and a little disappointed in Velvet. 

She knew. They were best friends, weren't they? They must have talked. Velvet would have known about the games and she didn't talk Yang out of putting herself on the line. Velvet's words had been ambiguous at best, and encouraging and hopeful at worst. It felt as if Velvet had left Yang to hang herself  to  dry, to walk into her own destruction and all at the little suggestion that Blake might like her back if she proved to be good enough. 

Yang was just glad that Blake hadn't tried to contact her afterwards. No call, no text and today at four-thirty, Velvet clocked out and left  Noola's by herself. Maybe Blake was waiting for her across the street or from a block away. Yang was relieved by it. 

She didn't know how she could face Blake anyway. 

Without any other distraction except for the clock ticking and Ms. Delaney ogling her Scroll, Yang was left to ponder on Raven's words.  _ It's either her or you.  _ Yang bit her lip and cursed her mother. Of course, a choice of that gravity came so simply to Raven because it was either her ex-husband  got a decent, soul-sucking job that paid well or she would walk. 

Tuesday afternoon, Yang still thought about what Raven had said. She realized that Raven's demand was impossible, unless, by some miraculous stroke of luck, this Liz person would call tonight and say that she would take Ruby away. That would solve her problems, well, half of it anyway. Still, it was more than Yang could ask for. 

Maybe she shouldn't have signed that stupid form. Maybe the foster care system wasn't so bad and Ruby might have ended up with respectable foster parents that school administrators didn't doubt. Yang would have saved herself the trouble, avoided these inconvenient visits from her mother and had the common sense to assess the game Blake played. 

Or at least have had enough time to talk with the friends she ha d n't seen in what felt like forever. 

She walked through the musty entryway of the Hannah Turing Library, greeted the librarian who eyed her curiously and with cold familiarity. Yang conveyed her assurance with a smile and a small wave which the librarian, messy curls and all, quickly ignored in favor of whatever task that had laid out in front of her. Ms. Carnahan didn't care much about passing students unless they were being noisy and Yang and her friends tended to keep their conversations quiet.  Most of the time.

She ducked into the main library hall, a big enough space with old shelves lining up the walls. There  were a couple of cheap long desks in the middle where a few who still come here gather. There  were cubby desks in one end of the room, providing a minute semblance of privacy, where a couple of students were either napping or straining their necks in pure focus. 

Ren and Nora were seated right in the middle of the room, across from each other on one of the long desks, engrossed in their reading materials. She sat herself down next to Ren, subtly pulling the chair the tiniest bit away from him . Her heart sank when they barely looked up to greet her. 

Nora was drawing circles on the corner of her lecture notes, eyes skimming through the page and lips forming words only she could understand. Ren, on the other hand, was reading a comic book. Yang bitterly thought that she ha d n't spent time with her friends at all in the last week. It felt like a lifetime ago and now she had no clue how to even begin talking to them. 

Yang quietly took out whatever wad of paper she could find out of her messenger bag and spread it out in front of all of them. Random pieces of paper with several  scribbles , t-charts and one filled with her signature littered the tabletop. She spotted her copy of Ruby’s schedule, which she swiped out of view and crumpled back into her bag. 

Even after a few pens and pencils have tumbled out of her bag, Ren and Nora still hadn't spoken to her, just casting glances and small smiles. Maybe she was just getting ahead of herself. Nora was studying and she never  really studied and Ren was equally absorbed in his comic book. 

But then  Yang had been getting ahead of herself, long before this moment. 

She knew she should've spent a little bit more time before she signed the damned document. Who was she kidding? It was a near-impossible task to balance taking care of a sixteen-year-old girl, pursuing a misguided romance and in most cases, that meant something else  — or  _ some people  _ — were going to get left behind. 

This time, it was Yang. 

"Sup?" A low whisper came. 

Yang whipped her head to look at Ren, casually staring at her with an eyebrow raised and a hand halfway to his comic book. 

She pointed to herself like an idiot, "Me?" 

"Yeah, you." Nora giggled, closed her lecture notes and pushed them towards Ren, "Didn't you find it weird that  ** I  ** was studying and Ren was goofing off?" 

"I don't always study." Ren whispered back as he tucked the comic book into his bag. 

Yang sighed and rested her head against the table. She really had to do something about this whole jumping to conclusions thing. It ha d been getting her into all sorts of problems that were easily avoidable. 

"Hey, Yang..." Nora whisper-sang, leaning closer so she could brush Yang's hair away from her face with the back of her pencil, "What's been going on, girl? We know things have been hard. Maybe we can help?" 

"I'm fine, you guys." Yang murmured onto the table. 

Yang felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Ren's soothing voice, "Did someone hurt you? Do you want Nora to hurt them back? Maybe break their legs?" 

Yang wiped her  fore head all over the table, hoping that her friends understood that she meant no, "I'm just... stressed the fuck out. Like I want to bang my head on this table for the rest of my life." 

"That seems like a long time." Ren whispered back. 

"Is this about your date last Saturday?" Nora said a little too loudly that Yang jerked her head up to look at her. 

Everyone else in the room was staring at them. Not even a few seconds have passed and Ms. Carnahan was marching into the main hall, fingers gripping the rim of her glasses and a deep frown on her face. She glared at the three of them, a menacing finger pointed at them and the wordless threat that every single person understood. 

Librarians had powers, apparently. 

As soon as Ms. Carnahan exited the main hall, Yang turned to her friends, head ducked and face beet red, "Where'd you hear about that?" 

"Neptune." Ren whispered. 

_ Oh, right.  _

His best friend was Blake's pretend-boyfriend, to cover up her real boyfriend and had asked Yang out on a date to spite him. 

"Who the fuck keeps talking about me?" Yang groaned and rolled her eyes. 

"Neptune." Nora, at least, had a good grasp of the concept of whispering now, despite the excitement in her eyes, "So, tell us what happened. What did you wear? Did you get to first base? You didn't bring her to a lobster place and make that shit  _ crush station  _ joke, did you? Did you kiss her? See her naked?  Did your car break down?" 

Yang grimaced and smacked herself in the face. Leave it to Nora to  air Yang's dirty laundry and add in something so crass, like asking if she had seen  —

"Nora, no." Yang whisper-shouted , "No. No to all of them. Nope. Nope. The date didn't happen.  Ewww . Do you think of people naked?" 

"Why not?" It was Ren who spoke a little too loudly. 

Yang turned to the lone girl on the other desk, brows furrowed in a mixture of desperate concentration and evident irritation at them. She then turned to the students in the cubby desks. Satisfied that  ** they  ** haven't looked up at them, she turned back to Ren with a finger over her lips. 

"My mom showed up. She took me to have dinner with her own friends and shit. Turns out, Blake  ** does  ** have a boyfriend and it's not Sun. It's just  **_ somebody  _ ** else who turned out to be such a decent guy with his own set of problems and now I feel guilty? Because he seemed like a  **_ really  _ ** nice guy and I'm upset because why would she do that to  ** all of us? We have motherfucking feelings too!"  **

Was it even possible for a library to be even more silent? 

Ren, Nora and the rest of the library's inhabitants were all staring at her, slack jawed and wide-eyed. Yang looked at each and every single one of them for  a  second as she felt the fury  fizzle into embarrassment. There was only one other reasonable thing to happen next and it began with the sound of he e ls clicking across the floor. 

Before Ms. Carnahan could even tap her on the shoulder and  _ quietly  _ demand that the trio vacate the building, Yang, Ren and Nora  swept their belongings back into their bags and pushed their seats back. No use being quiet now.

The librarian stood in the archway, arms folded across her chest and the most comical frown Yang had ever seen. Her hair was in much more of a disastrous state than it had been earlier and her cheeks were puffed and pink from the anger she kept inside. The three of them whispered their apologies as they passed by her, brisk walking out of the building and pushing each other to leave the building first. 

With fresh dust-less air and the chill of the coming winter on their skins, they headed for the nearest cafeteria or campus café  — whichever they would find first, really. Ren kept a little bit of distance between himself and Yang while Nora had no problems wrapping herself around her shoulders. 

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much." Yang said evenly, relieved that she no longer had to whisper, "Things at home have been moving between passable to kill-me-tomorrow-please and dating is out of the question." 

That was a no-brainer. Her love life was a bust and Yang could feel her grades slipping in the last two weeks . She sat in class and felt as if she had been listening to an advanced physics lecture, but in another language — and she didn't even have any physics-related classes.

Ren and Nora shared a look that Yang didn't recognize. It wasn't condescending or dismissive; it was somewhat like pity and maybe a little bit of admiration? Or was it understanding?  Nora loosened her grip on Yang and Ren moved closer, wrapping his hand over Yang’s wrist.

"I feel like a damn traitor." Yang laughed at herself, "You guys have always been there for me, my first ever friends, and you're probably the last to know how shitty my life is right now ... Not that I think knowing I'm a failure is an honor. I  ju — "

"Dude, stop." Nora whined as she untangled her arms off of Yang to get a better look at her, "Stop with this self-depreciation." 

"Deprecation." Ren corrected. 

"Depress-fuck-that. Stop it. Whatever it is. You of all people should know just how strong and capable you are  — Or you of all people should know just how much we support you." 

"What she said!" Ren added with a wide smile. 

"What I said, yeah!" 

"We don't exactly expect you to come running to us every five minutes. Besides, we honestly thought things were turning out okay and we felt like maybe you hanging with us was going to, I don't know,  _ cramp your style. _ "

"Cramp my style?" Yang grimaced, " We're not eight, you guys. Cramp my style? You guys are like  **_ the  _ ** coolest people I know." 

"I guess we're alright." Nora shrugged. 

"Nah, you guys are, like, the  cooliest ." Yang ducked her head and whispered, "I'm pretty good at cramping my own  **_ life. _ ** "

They spotted an empty bench beside the cafeteria, hidden away and covered with moss. Yang was too exhausted and defeated to even care, planting herself right at the edge of the seat.  She didn't question when her friends had flanked her, demanding her to scoot over and give them some room. She didn't question the way they turned their bodie s towards her and the expectant gleam in their eyes.

"Well, we're all here now." Nora said so softly that Yang could hear her hesitance thundering with each breath. 

" Wanna talk about it?" Ren patted Yang's hand. 

She looked at them both for a quick second, sighed and forced herself to smile, "Promise you won't judge?" 

They  both nodded and smiled. 

Yang began with Raven in her kitchen and how she had  _ saved  _ Yang from her date with Blake. She held a finger up for Nora, promising that she was going to get to that after a little while. She glossed over the part where she had to wear a dress and that they went to some fancy restaurant. She went straight to telling them that she had met Blake's  **_ real  _ ** boyfriend  — Adam Taurus. 

Of course, some classmate or friend of a friend heard there were rumors about the modern-day prince and the only daughter of a prominent family in the South, but they were so few and far-less entertaining than Yang Xiao Long's violent habits, her poor dating choices and some other equally humiliating rumors from some equally obscure-yet-familiar student. 

The biggest surprise was that Ren, who didn't really like gossiping, was the one who  had  heard  of  these claims. 

When all was said and done about her miserable failure of a romance and her strange, yet relieving night with Adam, she continued with her mother's demand that Yang get rid of Ruby or else she would have to drop out of school entirely  — both outcomes, she didn't want. 

"I didn't want to upset you, but, ugh..." Nora scratched the back of her head and looked at Yang with intensity in her eyes, "Your mom's kind of a  bitch." 

"Heartless bitch." Yang sighed, "I want to tear my hair out and cry, but it's all just stuck in my throat. I feel sick. I want to vomit. What the fuck do I do? I can't just throw Ruby out and I can't take care of a kid with my dog grooming salary  ** and  ** feed us and pay  **_ both  _ ** our school fees. What about rent? " 

"We'll figure something out." Ren wrapped an arm over Yang's shoulder. 

She recoiled from the touch, let her bag fall to the ground  and stood so she could look at her friends who sat with their mouths open and eyes wide. She could feel the bile rising, heating her throat as it rose and rose and rose. Yang closed her eyes. 

"This isn't your problem." She said through gritted teeth, "I honestly appreciate the concern, guys, and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to listen to me bitch about how shitty my life is, but I have to figure this out on my own." 

"Don't be dumb." Nora stood and stared Yang down. She was a good foot shorter than Yang, but dust did she look scary when she puffed her chest out like that, "Stop saying shit like that, like Ren and I don't care about you." 

"I didn't  — " 

"That’s what you were implying." Ren offered. 

"What I me — "

"No. Can it, Xiao Long." Nora clapped a hand over Yang's mouth, "Your life sucks." 

"That's not helping." Ren laughed nervously. 

"We should all admit it." Nora continued, "Your life sucks. Everything's going wrong and I'm going to tell you right now, it's not really going to get any better." 

_ Definitely n _ _ ot helping.  _

"The way you're dealing with it now isn't helping you or your sister or  ** anyone.  ** And now that we've all acknowledged the crap fest that is  _ your life,  _ I vote we all take a moment to sit down and think of ways to make it better." 

"Listen, Yang, you just need to stay calm for a little while." Ren said softly, gesturing for the two girls to return to the bench, "Just try to get through today." 

Yang groaned, but allowed Nora to lead her back to the bench like an eight-year-old child. Right now, it was much easier to just let someone tell her what to do. She feared that, if she were to be left alone with her own thoughts now that her problems were out in the open, she'd crash and burn and flicker into nothingness. 

Nora casually draped her leg over Yang's and Ren's laps, "Are we calm?" 

"No."  Yang groaned. 

"But at least you're listening." Nora sighed, "Alright. Let's deal with one problem right now, but let's just get one thing clear: what are you going to do with Ruby?" 

"Well, I can't just throw her into the street, can I?" Yang glared at Nora. 

"But do you want to?" 

Yang paused. 

She had thought about it. Not literally throwing Ruby out, just sending her back to Patch. Maybe she could live with the McNealy's at their pharmacy. Maybe Ruby could move back into their old house, since nobody seemed to want to buy it.  She seemed capable enough to live on her own despite being a sixteen-year-old girl. Ozpin might even stop by to visit her once in a while. 

She knew that the longer she kept silent, the longer she thought about it, the more it looked bad. But Yang couldn't find the energy to speak or to move. She stared into space instead and let her thoughts run rampant, wishing she could just  _ project  _ her thoughts to ease her friends' nerves.  Words had always failed her anyway. 

_ Gret _ _ dinner.  _

She thought of a little girl, clutching her father's pants and holding her sister's hand, thought of how she had roamed the entire house looking for something she'd never see again, that is, until little Yang Xiao Long wrapped her in a big hug and carried her up the attic where they could hide from the adults and the well-wishes and the quiet pity t hat never really soothed the young girls. 

She thought of how she almost barreled into her little sister.  Eighteen and feeling so impervious and full of herself. Ruby was really skinny then, with big silver eyes. She must have been confused and afraid. Her voice was so small then too, breaking as she begged her big sister not to go.

_ It's going to be okay, Yang. I still love you.  _

_ Please stay.  _

"Yang?" Ren touched her shoulder.

Yang still couldn't find the will to move, to look at her friends and witness the judgment in their eyes, but at least she found a little of  her  own voice, daring it to ignore the tightening in her chest, "She's the only one I have left." 

Try as Yang might to deny it, that was the truth. Ruby Rose still had family in this world  — _ Liz Draper  _ — and despite not knowing much about this woman, Yang was sure that this mysterious woman was the one thing Ruby wanted and needed: she wasn’t Yang. 

Everything had been okay after haughty Yang Xiao Long left her father’s house, after she had left her biological mother’s house for a life in the city. Everything had been okay when she started adjusting to her new life in Vale, a life that was entirely her own. She made new friends, found a decent job, did well academically and, despite the horrific outcome of it, she had fallen in love. Everything had been okay. 

Or so she believed. 

Because there was something far better about watching old cartoons with  _ somebody,  _ about getting groceries and arguing about stupid cream cheese brownies, about having someone on  **_ her  _ ** side and eternally challenging her, teasing, making fun of her, but still be able to say that they still love her. 

Even after all of the mistakes she couldn’t forgive herself for. 

"It had always been me and Ruby." Yang paused and took a deep breath, "Dad was so depressed for a while. He would go for days and not talk to us, like a goddamn ghost. He was still there, hanging around the couch, but it's like he wasn't. 

"Now I can't help but feel that I'm more like him, just watching my life fall apart." Yang scoffed as her voice cracked, but she would not let the tears fall, "And that, maybe, I'm becoming more like my own mother." 

"But you're not a heartless witch, Yang." Ren whispered. 

"I don't know how to be strong anymore. I mean, I managed to do it before. I was the one who kept it together. I knew the costs. I knew that I had to put everyone else before myself. I had to try and fit into shoes that would forever be too big for me.

"Eventually, dad got better and set up the dojo, but I was so pissed that he acted as if nothing was wrong. He got better. Ruby got better. And me? I feel like them getting better  **_ ruined  _ ** me. I guess that's why I have horrible taste in people, particularly women. I keep getting attracted to people who are mean and-or have no interest in me." 

"Oh, Yang," Nora sang as she squeezed her shoulder, "you're a catch. Those girls are just dumb. Blake's a dumbass." 

"You don’t need her kind of negativity in your life." Ren added with a soft smile, "I mean, you  kinda already have your own, so..." 

Yang half-laughed and half-sighed. He had a point. Still, just hearing  _ her _ name made her think of  **_ her _ ** and thinking of  **_ her _ ** reminded Yang of every single thing Adam had said  last  Saturday night. She had no reason to believe Adam, but she had no reason to believe Blake either. 

A part of her wanted to believe that Adam lied, that maybe,  _ maybe,  _ Blake liked her back, that maybe she was finally going to get the girl of her dreams, but really, Adam Taurus had no reason to lie to her. They  were both fighting their own battles, both carried the weight of people on their  shoulders, neck -deep in pro blems that keep getting worse. 

"Yeah," she smiled a little, "You're right. I've got to deal with everything else." 

"Alright." Nora cheered, "Now that we've gotten that out of the way , for now, let's talk house, you know, options?" 

Yang nodded.  She felt relief wash over her. She was proud that she hadn’t feel the sadness knocking on her heart and wishing to come tumbling out of her mouth. 

Nora bit her lip in thought, "Well, you've been able to live off of your earnings from Ms. Delaney's shop, right?" 

"Basic needs, yeah, but not school fees!" 

"You could get a scholarship." Ren suggested. 

"But wouldn't it be a little too late?" Nora continued, " Don't those things usually fill out  ** before  ** the semester starts?"

"If worse comes to worst, you could always get student loans." Ren muttered the last words. 

"Indentured for life like a 21 st century slave." Nora added bitterly. 

Yang groaned and buried her hands in her hair, pulling at her scalp, "What— What if I sell my car?" 

Ren and Nora both looked at her in astonishment and then exchanged a look with each other. They had a knack for doing this: communicating in a way that only they could understand. A split-second later, they both looked at her and shook their heads. 

"Dude, no one would want your car." Nora deadpanned, "It's a piece of crap." 

Yang smirked, "Fuck you, Nora. But yeah, I'd probably just embarrass myself selling the old girl. I'm embarrassed to just even  _ be driving it _ ." 

"Didn't your dad leave you some money?" 

Ren said it so softly and nervously that Yang almost didn't hear it. She slowly turned to him and remembered what was left of the revenue from the sale of the Sun Dragon Dojo. She remembered how she almost choked on her own spit when she had seen the numbers and thought that she could quit her job at  Noola's . 

She would have been set for the next three years, but that was before Raven threatened to stop paying for her school fees. Then there was Ruby's half of it . Yang could never take that away from her, not especially if she knew she would struggle just to pay it back. 

"With mine and Ruby's school fees, groceries and rent?" Yang sighed, "That could buy me a year, at least. Maybe two, if we're lucky." 

"Maybe your dad took out some sort of insurance?" Nora quirked an eyebrow, "Some of those tend to leave some money behind for the next of kin. Maybe your dad got one of those?"

"Yeah, I read about those." Ren shrugged, "Some guy tried to sell me some insurance last month. Maybe your dad listed you and your sister as beneficiaries." 

Yang frowned. She doubted Taiyang Xiao Long would have gone so far as to directly leave her anything behind, not after the very last time that they had seen and spoke to each other. Even if he had found it in himself to forgive her in the last moments of his life, Yang doubted he would have thought about  _ her  _ when he had a sixteen-year-old to think about. 

Ozpin would know though. He said he was her father's friend, that he had met several times with Taiyang in his last months. Ozpin had even met Summer Rose. 

He must definitely know. 

"I'll have to ask our dad's lawyer about that." Yang sighed, "I was supposed to call him t— "

_ Liz.  _

Ruby's long-lost remaining  family member. Somebody had beat Yang to that title and Ozpin had only told her snippets about this  _ Liz  _ person. Elizabeth Draper, Summer Rose's cousin of about the same age, recently gotten her Master's Degree in some form of  science that got her to travel, currently working on her doctorate. Ozpin had met her once, he said, before Ruby was born. 

Apparently, Yang had met her too, but she  must have  been too young to remember. 

"Yang, what's wrong?" Nora tried to snap Yang out of her thoughts. 

Yang felt fear, so familiar and yet so different, coiling around her throat. Her blood was pumping and her heart felt like it was about to give out any moment. Suddenly, the entire university was too noisy, her clothes felt itchy and tight and  Nora’s leg felt heavy on her lap.

"Liz." She said simply. 

"Who's Liz?" Ren wrapped a hand over hers. 

"Ruby's aunt or something." Yang tried to laugh, but she hadn't felt this weight in her chest in years, not since she ran away from Patch, "A scientist lady who was supposed to get Ruby if I didn't sign the stupid papers." 

"Scientist lady?" Nora repeated as she wrapped her own hand over Yang's free one. 

"Yeah,  Ozymandude said she traveled a lot for work and that she stopped talking to Summer Rose after Ruby was born." 

"Why?" 

"He said she didn't approve of  Summer and  my dad." 

They were silent for a little while. A couple passed by in front of them, staring and giggling as Yang looked up. The girl gave a little smile and wave while the boy beamed at them. Nora waved back with a little wave of her own, staring after them as they disappeared. 

"We could hold a séance right now." Yang  said  absentmindedly, "We're already holding hands anyway." 

"Wouldn't we need a  Ouija board?" Nora sighed. 

"Nope." Ren chuckled, "I'm all you need." 

Yang smiled at the ground. She held their hands tighter, not truly wanting them to let  her  go. She found a little bit of comfort in their touch, felt like she wouldn't fall on her ass when she had her friends beside her. Even if she had found a way to do just that, they'd help her up... after a good laugh. But the smile was quick to fade as everything wrong in her life was trying grab hold onto the corners of her lips.

Elizabeth Draper. 

Liz. 

She was a traveling scientist. She must have  ** some  ** money, but then again, maybe she had student loans or something? She was around Summer's age. She would probably look old enough to be handling a sixteen-year-old girl,  _ fuck,  _ she'd probably know  ** how ** to do it. 

"I'll call Ozpin tonight." Yang whispered, "I'll ask him about Liz." 

Elizabeth Draper. Yang wondered what kind of woman she would be. She imagined female scientists from movies, wearing lab coats and black rubber gloves that reached the elbows. She imagined that she would have a raspy voice, that she'd be as tall as Summer was or that maybe she'd share the same silver eyes that would catch anyone off guard. 

Her work took her to different places, according to Ozpin, places that didn't get good reception or electricity, doing some sort of experiment, or observation or gathering data with a portable chemistry set. She hadn't really listened when Ozpin tried to explain. The only thought that came to her mind was that Elizabeth Draper followed where the wind would take her. 

A traveler. 

An adventurer. 

A wanderer. A vagabond!

Like Summer Rose had been before the wind took her to Xiao Long house. 

Yang, Ren and Nora gathered their belongings and straightened themselves. Nora’s hand lingered in the air, ready to brush whatever unwelcome tear that would fall from Yang’s eyes. Yang simply laughed and waved her hand away. Yang Xiao Long would never cry. She had no time for tears. Yang smiled and turned to the direction of the cafeteria  doors, praying that they would be serving pesto or grilled cheese. 

She was going to suggest that the three of them get pizza when a smoke-grey jeep wrangler pulled up beside them. Ren jumped back out of instinct. The three of them openly scowled at the vehicle, waiting for the driver to hop out. 

The passenger door opened instead, well-worn leather loafers stepped onto the sidewalk and a head of red spiky hair poked out of the top. Adam Taurus closed the door, dismissing whoever drove the car with a wave of his hand. 

"Adam?" Yang exclaimed. 

He turned to her then, an apologetic expression that softened his face , that brightened as he smiled at her, "Sorry about that. Cardin is still learning how to handle his jeep."

Yang looked back at the jeep, tried to peer through the heavily tinted windows at where Cardin Winchester definitely sat like a spoiled brute behind the wheel, no doubt glaring at her. She was surprised when she heard the honk of his car, but stood still. The jeep roared to life, suddenly stopped and then started again, driving away with its asshole driver. 

"Hello, everyone!" Adam waved at Nora and extended his hand to Ren, "I'm Adam Taurus? I'm the chancellor of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity. You must be Yang's friends?"

Ren hesitantly shook his hand and murmured, "Um... yeah. Lie Ren." 

"Nice to meet you, Lie." Adam turned to Yang and smiled even wider , "I'm actually here because I'd like to speak with Yang. I hope you don't mind?" 

Yang blinked at him for a moment and felt her cheeks burn beneath his smile. She ignored Nora's groan and Ren's correction, ignored her pulse rushing, only long enough to nod. She cast an apologetic look at her friends, who shrugged and made her promise to call them later. 

Adam waved as they left. Yang didn't turn to see them off, keeping her eyes glued to her boots, aware of how odd it may seem for her to look like a mess, as opposed to the way she had looked on Saturday night. She bit her tongue and breathed deeply. The Yang from Saturday night wasn't who she was and she might not come back any time soon anyway. 

She cursed herself. Why did she feel so  _ nervous  _ around him? 

It must have been the charm in the way he moved, so boyish, so laid back. Adam Taurus  _ looked  _ like the type of guy she had seen in movies, but he  _ felt  _ like someone she had known since they were children. 

He cleared his throat as he stood in front of her, hands behind his back, "I should start by saying that I'm sorry about what happened Saturday night." 

"There wasn't anything to apologize for." Yang laughed dismissively. 

" No, It's just..." He sighed, "the investigations have been taking  ** too damn long  ** and my dad decided he would drop by, right in the middle of a full-scale riot inside the fraternity." 

"Riot? Are you talking about Jaune?" 

"That's... what I wanted to talk to you about." 

Adam pulled his hands from his back and ducked his head. He looked nervous, licking his lips as his eyes scanned their feet. Yang suddenly felt conscious about her mud-caked boots. She felt her cheeks burning again as her hand reached out to tuck a clump of her hair behind her ear. 

She watched as he raised a hand, hesitant at first, to reach out to hold hers. He quickly withdrew and, instead, gently squeezed her bicep. He looked into her eyes with a quiet determination that sent shivers down Yang's spine. 

She had felt this way before. Quite a few times. The most recent one was the week before, at  Noola's , under the intense gaze of golden eyes and lies and lies and lies. 

"He's your friend, right?" Adam smiled shyly. 

She nodded, quite enthralled by the timbre of his voice. 

"I just want you to talk to him for me." He sighed as he moved his hand up to her shoulder, "I don't want any trouble. My father said not to engage him, to ignore his obvious lies. He's setting me up, Yang. He's  **_ lying  _ ** to everyone, claiming I had something to do with the missing revenue from the book drive." 

His voice rose a little, his breathing became erratic. His shoulders rose and fell as his eyes widened. He took one look at Yang, breathed deep and relaxed. Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned at Yang. 

"I'm sorry." He said as he rubbed his jaw, " I'm just a little stressed. It just doesn't make sense, you know, and the rest of the brothers have been lapping up every single thing he says without bothering to  ** consider  ** listening to my side. 

“ My family is responsible for seventy-percent of the fraternity's funding. Seventy! I don't need to  **_ embezzle  _ ** money that came from our pockets. So, I borrowed a couple hundred here and there a few times? I made sure my father gave it back ten-fold." 

Yang frowned. 

Adam stared at her expectantly, pleadingly, almost miserably, "I think he's going to listen if it's you. Just smooth things out with him so he'd agree to talk to me. You girls are really good at mediating." 

Yang thought for a moment. The silence hung in the air like daggers against  her  throat. Adam was still staring. His eyes never left hers, searching, waiting. There was the misery there, yes, but there was also  _ something  _ that Yang couldn't quite figure out. 

She shifted her weight and pulled her bag closer to her chest, suddenly feeling a little too exposed and vulnerable. Her heart no longer raced, but there was that sickening feeling lingering in the back of her throat. 

She thought of Neptune, of  ** his  ** version of Jaune's fight against Adam and how he had called it a  _ "modern-day revolution"  _ just to stay in Beacon and not get kicked out of the fraternity. She remembered his tale about how the fraternity used to mean something more than just being  _ brothers to each other,  _ but  also  being respectable members of society. 

"Please, Yang." He pleaded once more, "The fraternity will survive without me, yes, but I  **_ have to stay  _ ** in control, just until graduation. I'm the only reason why we even have an Arthur Taurus Scholarship Program."

He watched her closely, tried to find something that Yang was sure was not there. 

She brushed his odd behavior aside, thought that maybe he was just exhausted and overworked. She bit her lip and readjusted the strap of her messenger bag as a way to dispel the anxiety on her fingertips. "I heard some of the brothers have already been kicked out because they lost their sponsorships."

Adam  visibly deflated. He pulled away from her, took a step back and sighed. "Look, I'm trying my best, Yang. The brothers that were kicked out? They were under different sponsorships from donors who no longer valued education, who would leave these  _ privileged and potential leaders  _ to their own devices. I'm trying to convince my dad to  ** extend  ** the sponsorship to them, to donate a little bit more just so we could get those brothers back." 

"And you want me to just talk to Jaune?" 

He smiled and reached out to hold her hands in his, pressing her fingers close to his chest as he looked down into her eyes, "Thank you, Yang. You have no idea how grateful I am for your help." 

Before she could say a word, Adam planted a soft kiss against her knuckle. He beamed at her as he extricated himself from her grasp and bid her excited goodbyes. 

Yang was speechless, rooted to the spot and cheeks flushing. There was a fluttering in her stomach and a pounding in her chest. Her lips quirked upwards as she watched his figure disappear into the building with his hands in his pockets. And that should have been it, but Adam turned to her one last time and his smile might just have been the best thing to ever happen that day. 

She thought of the pained expression on his face the night they spoke, thought of how cruel Blake was for treating him, Sun and herself the way she did. Yang's mind was racing, conjuring up thoughts and scenarios — reasons,  ** anything  ** really, just to help her understand why and how she had made herself a target.

She thought of the night at the Lambda House, in the darkness, alone with a love that she had lost so many times over. It was plain and obvious then that Blake didn’t like her, not a single bit. In fact, she had been critical of Yang’s short temper, fueled by whispers about her from people  who had probably never even met her. 

She should have known then. She should have known, should have accepted it and moved on. 

Hope was a cruel mistress. 

Yang sat herself down on the bench again. She took her Scroll out of her pocket and looked through her contacts list, scrolling down to Vomit Boy. 

Where are you? Want to talk.   
Yang, 2:21 PM

It felt strange. She placed her Scroll on her lap and waited. She hadn’t spoken with Jaune after the scuffle at the Lambda House. He had helped the boys sneak Yang and Blake out of the House, he had called  to ask if she got home safely. Even if he seemed like a goofy, misguided fool, but he was sincere with her and probably cared deeply about her — as friends. And he seemed okay with that now. 

She sighed as she watched a car cruise by in front of her. Jaune might be overbearing with his ridiculous obsession with love and his slight desperation to have a girlfriend, but he probably had a lot to teach her about not taking rejection too hard and moving on. 

Sup yang the broken blade   
Vomit Boy, 2:25 PM

359 springs st   
Vomit Boy, 2:26 PM

Yang tucked her Scroll back into her jeans. She slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way back to the library where she had parked her car. Thankfully, her old hatchback understood that today was not a good day to piss her off, starting without a hitch. 

359 Springs Street was probably a  twenty-minute drive from Beacon, maybe half-an-hour if traffic was bad.  She was only going to exchange a few words with Jaune anyway. She’d apologize for being radio silent for the last couple of weeks, convince him to take this  _ revolution  _ down a notch, at least just get him to talk to Adam. 

At least she wouldn’t have to be at  Noola’s for another hour and a half. 

From the outside, The Broken Blade was a decent-sized  comic  book shop, just a little bit bigger than  Noola’s , but from where she stood, it looked a little too crowded, not of people, but of furniture. Shelves and racks. The windows were partially obscured with magazine racks containing an assortment of bright-colored titles and imagery. There were different posters here and there and a couple papier-mâché models of what looked like a blue grain of glowing rice with golden metal wings  hung from the ceiling. 

Yang frowned at the dirty windows and the grime that had gathered in the etching of the shop’s name, pocketing her Scroll as she hesitantly reached for the door handle. 

The Broken Blade smelled like her car, but worse, with a little bit of moldy burgers in the mix of horrible scents. She closed her eyes for a moment, took one last breath of half-fresh air and closed the door behind her. 

The shelves and magazine racks were everywhere, giving little room in between for customers to actually be able to peruse their merchandise. The checkout counter was right in the middle, a badly refurbished and repainted large desk next to a glass display case that housed, possibly, hundreds of dice, figurines, fancy  leather boxes and some colored plastic sheets next to ones with stars and hearts on them. 

The woman behind the counter looked to be in her late twenties. The right side of her hair was shaved while her long, braided black hair fell over her left shoulder. She looked pale and mean, a bored expression on her face as she flipped through whatever she was reading.

Yang approached and nervously smiled at this strange woman. She cleared her throat and placed a hand over the counter and this had gotten the woman to glance at her, through her lashes, then  she  resume d her reading as if there wasn’t a customer right in front of her. 

“Did you need anything?” her voice was soft and low, comforting. From this close, Yang could make out an inch of a tattoo on the woman’s chest, underneath her gray sweater. 

“I’m... uh...” Yang briefly thought of Blake, how this woman seemed to resemble her a little  — only a little, “I’m looking for Jaune?” 

The woman looked at Yang closely, disbelief and excitement swirling around in her bright blue eyes. The longer the two of them looked at each other, the less Yang saw Blake. Because even though this woman seemed just as intimidating, just as cold and disinterested, she smiled so gently and so child-like that she reminded Yang more of her sister instead. 

“You’re kidding, right?” the woman scoffed, “Dust, I thought the dude was lying, but he actually has a girl visiting him. Oh, man. You his girlfriend or something?”

Yang blushed and answered too quickly, “No.” 

“Thought so.” she laughed as she wiped imaginary tears from the corners of her eyes, “So, did he, like, give you the password or something?”

_ Password? _

“I know, right?” she smirked at Yang and sighed. “Forget it. He’s in the backroom.” 

Yang stepped to the side, turning to the far end of the room to scan for a door, but the woman called her attention back to her, to the door behind her with a sign that read “authorized personnel only”. 

It was as if the exchange didn’t happen. The woman went back to her reading, ignoring Yang as she approached the door behind her. Yang twisted the flimsy doorknob , opening the door to a dimly lit room. She could hear hushed whispers and laughter and joking and voices she had heard before. 

“Hello?” she called out into the shadows, remembering those horror movies where an unsuspecting victim would walk into the basement. 

The hairs on the back of her neck stood when the voices stopped. She was about to turn back to the strange woman behind the counter, would rather smell the musty smell of old magazines and sweat than to have a hand grab her ankle and pull her straight to hell . A light came on from further down. 

“Yang?” 

Relieved to hear Jaune’s voice, Yang took one deep breath before descending the steps, walking towards the faint light of what seemed to be a stock room, an employee lounge, a pantry and a utility closet all rolled into  one ginormous mess . In one corner was a mop squeezer and a modest shelf of cleaning supplies, that were no doubt ignored. Opposite that were boxes of what Yang assumed were store merchandise or more unused cleaning supplies. Right in the middle was a fuzzy brown floor mat, four plastic chairs, one folding table and two blond men. 

“Wait.” Jaune blinked at her, “Did Tina just let you in here?”

Yang rolled her eyes, “Yeah,  wh —”

“I haven’t even given you the password yet.” Jaune groaned, walking past Yang and grumbling about something Yang cared nothing about at the moment. 

She grabbed him by the elbow as he neared her and pulled him back to face her. He looked different. He looked older, worn out; he had dark circles under his blue eyes and a peach fuzz where only his skin should be. His hair was a mop of dirty blond that stuck in every direction and he didn’t even lace his shoes properly. 

“Forget your stupid passwords.” Yang gently squeezed his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes, “You and I need to talk.” 

“Alright.” Jaune drawled, looking over Yang’s shoulder as a blush crept across his cheeks. 

Yang let her hands fall to her side as she took a step back, casting one quick look at Sun, forcing whatever thought she had about him down, then turning back to Jaune. She was here for one thing and one thing only. Still, she felt the tightening in her chest as she bit  ** that  ** heartache down. 

“I want to talk to you about Adam Taurus.” Yang said slowly. 

There was a flicker of irritation in Jaune’s eyes, “Sun and I were talking about him too. Neptune said he told you about the brothers who got kicked out.” 

“Yeah, I talked with Adam too and he s—”

“You talked to Adam?” 

Yang and Jaune both look ed at Sun at the same time. She felt her own irritation climbing to the top of her skull, aching and burning. She shook her head, shook the very feeling out of her, reminding herself that Sun was just as much a pawn as  she was.

_ But he must have known about Blake and Adam. They live in the same house.  _

“Since when did you start talking with Adam Taurus?” Jaune said with an air of condescension. 

Yang shook her head, “That’s not important. What’s important is that he said you’ve been causing trouble?” 

“Trouble? Me?” Jaune pressed a hand against his chest, “I’m not the one who’s misusing the fraternity’s funding and buying whatever piece of crap out there. And do you know who gets in trouble for  **_ their  _ ** mistakes? Us at the bottom of the food chain.” 

“Jaune, I’m sure that if you talk to Adam, he’d —”

“Adam  ** is  ** the problem.” Sun contributed, much to Yang’s increasing annoyance of his presence, “Before he became chancellor, the Lambda fraternity was fine.”

Sun was wrong. Adam was doing everything he could to fix the situation. He said he was even trying to ask his father to fully support the fraternity members. Yang could feel her jaw begin to ache and her head throbbing with pain. 

“The problem is you all think that fighting with each other is going to solve everything. It’s not.” Yang raised her voice and stared both of them down, “Don’t you guys have this code or something? Something bad is already happening and you think that blaming each other is going to magically make things better. Jaune, have you even spoken to Adam? At all? He's just as worked up about this whole situation as you all are.” 

“He’s a fucking liar.” Sun hissed. 

Yang had to fold her arms over herself, holding herself down so she wouldn’t have to get violent. Not here. Not now. Not with  **_ him.  _ **

“I’m sorry, alright?” Sun continued as he shook his head, “But this really isn’t  **_ your  _ ** fight, Yang. You can take his side all you want, but you’re not a part of this mess. You’re not the victim here and you’re definitely not the hero. So, please, just stop getting in the way.” 

Yang bit her tongue. Her hands fell to her sides, fists tight until she could feel her muscles tense and her nails digging into the palm of her hands. 

_ Cool it, Xiao Long.  _

“Sorry, Yang, he’s right.” Jaune mumbled, “We can’t sit idly by and watch us all fall apart. The fraternity executives turn a blind eye while one of us gets kicked out every other day. Anger is all we have left. We have to fight. You said it yourself before, sometimes all we have left to do is that.”

_ Or let it happen again and again.  _

She clenched her fists. The Yang who loved to throw those words around was a reckless, violent fool, an idiot, a gullible, hopeless romantic loser. The memories came crashing down on her, torrents of lies that she told herself. 

Yang Xiao Long was a runner, a coward. She was never a fighter. 

Yang could feel the world imploding in her head, her throat  constrict and her hands growing numb. Her heart was hammering in her chest, echoing until their words burned in her ears. Suddenly, her limbs were too heavy, too useless and she was beginning to feel like she did when she stood in front of her father, when she had “ _ fought”  _ for  — what exactly did she fight for then? 

For his love? For his respect? 

Taiyang Xiao Long died in a hospital bed in Patch, his sixteen-year-old daughter had been on her way to visit him while his runaway daughter merrily lived her boring life away from him. 

She would never get his love nor his respect. 

Her head felt like a cement mixer. 

All she could do was run. 

Yang turned her back on Jaune and Sun. The door flew open as she passed, but Tina barely flinched. She heard the two boys chase after her, trying to get her to calm down, to come back, to talk to them. But Yang had had enough. 

_ Why is this so fucking hard?  _

All she wanted to do was help her friends. She knew how horrible train wrecks went and she worked tirelessly to keep her own life from crashing into the pavement. Was it so wrong to try to save her friends from making mistakes? 

This was for Adam. This was her thanks to him. He had been kind enough to make  **_ one  _ ** of her many problems disappear. He didn’t have to, but he did. Yang had trashed the balcony at the Lambda House, had sent the apology letter too late and yet Adam didn’t hold that against her, or reported her to the school administration. 

Adam was her friend. 

He would never lie to her. 

_ Right? _

No, he wouldn’t. He had no reason to lie to her. 

But Jaune did. 

Jaune was the one who convinced her to go to the Lambda party in the first place, because of a girl that he never even found or bothered to look for afterwards. He must have seen what the fraternity brothers did to her that day, yet he still thought it better to get her to take him to the party. 

Then there was Sun. 

He was part of the lie too. What lay beneath his boyish charms was the cruel sensitivity of his manly pride. What ungodly reason could possibly have compelled him to  **_ lie  _ ** and pretend that he and Blake were a thing? Did he actually believe they were? What did he get out of all of this? 

Yang reached for the door handle, ignoring the pleas of Jaune and Sun as they followed her to the door. She stopped in her tracks and held her breath as she stared out the grimy display window. Coco Adel, a person who had never been particularly nice to her — and someone who had seen her with Adam Taurus instead of being on her date — was approaching the store. 

“Yang, come on.” Jaune murmured as he wrapped a hand around Yang’s arm, “Please hear us out. That's what friends do, isn’t it?”

She sighed and rounded on the two boys, “We are not friends. You’re just some dopey, obsessed-with-love dipshit who falls in love with every single girl he sees.” 

“Please no fighting in the store.” Tina deadpanned, flipping a page of the magazine she had been reading. 

They all ignored her.

The door opened behind Yang. She felt the wind blow against her hair and somebody moving close towards her. 

“Hey, what’s—Yang?” There was no mistaking Coco Adel’s voice. Yang had heard it that night, when she had called Adam a  _ fucking asshole _ . 

Yang suddenly felt a vibration against her thigh, in the pocket where her Scroll was. She thought it had been a simple text message, but it kept ringing. She looked at Jaune and Sun, watched them exchange a look of worry and then look past her shoulder, to where Coco’s sunglasses might be. 

“I have to go.” Yang whispered as she placed her hand over her Scroll, “You guys do whatever the fuck you want. I don’t even care anymore.” 

“You should care, Yang.” Coco said callously behind her, devoid of the surprise she had expressed earlier, “Your friends’ lives are at stake, even Blake’s li—”

Yang growled until her throat ached. That had been enough to quiet everyone in the room, but it did little to get their eyes off of her or ease the irritation they all no doubt felt about each other. Tina had repeated her sentiments with a suggestion of taking the fight outside, but Yang had other plans. 

Her Scroll stopped vibrating then. 

She turned to Coco, looked into her own disheveled reflection in the girl’s ever-present sunglasses and shouted, “I don’t give a flying fuck about Blake. She  _ used  _ me.” 

“What the fuck?” Tina groaned. 

“What are you talking about, Xiao Long?” Coco grimaced, “That’s not what’s going — what did Adam say to you?” 

“That’s not important.” Yang grumbled, feeling her Scroll vibrating against her thigh once more, “I don’t care anymore. You guys have fun with your little fighting. I don’t want to be a part of this. I have to go.” 

Yang tried to push past Coco, but the girl stood still, blocking the doorway with her body. Yang could have easily knocked her over, could easily sidestep her so she could finally be far away from them as possible, but Coco looked as if she wouldn’t allow it. 

Even if it meant she would get hurt. 

This was a serious game they were playing.  **_ All of them.  _ ** Yang’s mind wandered, remembered the moments that Coco had made fun of her, the moments that Blake turned away and how Velvet just smiled as she and her friends passed. After all, she was Yang Xiao Long with the short fuse, the heartbreaker, the runaway ingrate.

She could feel the irritation swirling around at the back of her skull, could feel the want to raise her arm, pull it back and channel all her frustrations and anger into a full swing. But no. She couldn’t prove them right about her.

Anger would not solve any of her problems. It was, in fact, the reason for them. 

She shouldn’t have been mad that Taiyang Xiao Long, her father, had dismissed her feelings as a child, had left her to fend for herself as he shrank in on himself. She shouldn’t even have cared because that was  **_ his  _ ** choice. Had she known that she could have just ignored his brokenness to tend to herself, then maybe the last time they had seen each other wouldn’t have been so dramatic. 

_ Stop it.  _

There was little point in praying for things to have happened differently. They each chose their paths and Taiyang had met his end, Raven was doing her part and Yang... she just wanted to go to  Noola’s and start her shift early.

Her Scroll stopped vibrating once more. 

“Yang, it’s not what you think it is.” Coco said softly, “can we just sit down and talk about this? We’re all worried. Blake’s worried about you, Yang. Come on. Please, just tell us what happened.” 

The room was deafeningly silent. Despite the sounds of the magazine flipping pages, the shallow breathing of the men behind Yang and the renewed vibrating in her pocket, it felt like all the air had rushed out of the room, waiting for her. 

“Then why hasn’t she called?” Yang swallowed the lump in her throat and bit her lip to stop the trembling. No. There will be no tears. She had to fight back. She had to push the pain, the heartache, the memories and the nightmares away. 

She had to push Coco Adel away. 

“Get out of my way.” Yang said through gritted teeth, firmer and devoid of the smallness she had felt a moment earlier. 

“Adam is lying to you, Yang.” Coco’s voice was much louder now, echoing within the small confine of the Broken Blade Hobby Shop, “Now tell me  **_ exactly  _ ** what he said to you so I can explain.” 

Yang breathed deep and held her breath. Coco raised a hand, wary and gentle, tried to touch Yang, but moved no further than a couple inches away. They locked into a staring contest, an argument that manifested in their silence when their words had failed. 

Coco glared at Yang and said in a low voice, “Things will be easier if you curb your fucking temper and listen for one goddamn second. Just tell me what he said to you that’s got you this fucking paranoid.” 

“Fine.” Yang folded her arms over her chest, “He told me Blake lied. She lied about her and Sun. She lied to  _ my fucking face  _ when I put myself  ** on the line  ** last year. Boyfriend my fucking ass!” 

“Guys, please!” Tina drawled in her bored voice, “Jaune, dude, get your girlfriends out of here.” 

“I am not his girlfriend!” Coco turned to Tina. 

Yang had taken this as an opening. She tried to shoulder past Coco, wanted to bump into the girl on her way out, but Coco Adel was a lot stronger than she looked. She held Yang in place and frowned. 

“Listen to me,” Coco began, “Blake... is not the best at handling her issues, but she was just scared shitless, Yang, I think. Yeah, yeah. She was. And — and you’re upset. And you need to hear all of this from her.  Okay, why don’t I get her to come here?” 

Yang froze. 

That would be the best solution. Yang had questions and, try as everyone else might, only Blake’s answers could calm the doubts and fears in her head. Blake lied and Yang wasn’t quite sure what she lied about anymore. 

If truth be told, against her better judgment and despite the humiliation she felt, Yang truly believed that maybe, just maybe, she could get her to tell the truth. Whatever the outcome, Yang just wanted to know. 

_ Thanks. But no. I have a boyfriend.  _

Blake was just as Yang had remembered her since the first time Yang laid eyes on her: immaculate. She felt like that story with the wax wings and flying too close to the sun. Yang Xiao Long had been warned, she had been told not to get too close. Even Blake had warned her, but Yang was a fool. Because Blake was everything she wanted to be: cool, collected and someone who knew what she was doing. 

She knew, alright. She knew the game so well. 

Yang shook her head as she gently pulled away from Coco’s grip, “No, thanks. I have to go anyway. Someone’s calling me.” 

Coco took a step back, “Don’t tell me you and Adam are speed-dial buddies now.”

Yang ignored her, but Coco seemed adamant. The girl stepped closer, raised her hands to try to hold Yang down again, but she didn’t. Yang was thankful for that. She didn’t know what she would do if Coco felt the need to touch her. 

“Adam is dangerous, Yang.” Coco whispered, “He almost killed someone — he almost killed Blake. We’ve got a way to prove it too, but he’s a goddamn asshole. Ju — ”

Yang raised her middle finger at Coco. Everyone in the room gasped, except Tina. Coco was too stunned by the gesture and Yang simply circled around her, flipped everyone else off one last time before she made her way back to her beat-up old hatchback. 

She fished for her keys in her pocket and felt her Scroll vibrating for the third time in the last ten minutes. Yang slipped the device out of her pocket as she prayed that it wasn’t Adam, nor Raven, nor Ruby and most of all, not Blake. She sighed and felt the tension escape through her pores as she pressed the device to her ear. 

“Hi, Mr. Ozpin.” Yang said evenly, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Xiao L — Yang.” he said as he cleared his throat, “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for coffee? I’m at Madeleine’s Brew, a stone’s throw away from where I saw your car parked.” 

Yang looked around the area, read the shop signs until her eyes landed on a plain royal blue sign with Madeleine’s Brew painted on in a tall font style. 

“I hope it’s not a bad time.” Ozpin continued, “I have a couple of things I need to discuss with you.” 

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat and felt her heart thumping harder and faster, “I have half an hour before I have to get to work.” 


	19. The Test of Pedigree

Madeleine’s Brew had been just a five-minute walk from where Yang had parked her yellow hatchback,  but it only took less than two minutes for Yang to make it to the front door. She marched as fast as she could so that none of her so-called friends would catch up with her. 

The café was dark and oddly brown with shades of dark blue here and there. It reminded Yang of old school buildings in Patch. It even felt like it. The heater must have been busted and Yang wondered if it was colder  _ inside  _ than out. 

It wasn’t difficult to spot Ozpin. Apart from the baristas, there were only three other people inside. Ozpin was seated on the table closest to the counter, his chin hidden beneath his green woolen scarf. H e frowned as he read the café newspaper, sipping from his coffee cup every now and then. 

Yang  c arefully maneuvered her way to him , fitting herself in the spaces between the chairs. She cleared her throat the moment she reached his side. He looked up at her, confused for a moment, then he smiled.  As she had expected, he stood and raised both his arms. Yang briefly thought that he might wrap her in a hug, but she saw the hesitation in his eyes and waited for him to gesture for her to sit instead. 

She had no complaints. She still felt uncomfortable being around him, albeit his good intentions. 

“Hey, Mr. Ozpin.” Yang fiddled with her fingers as she sat herself down, “What brings you to my part of town?” 

Ozpin still  hadn’t taken his seat. He straightened his jacket, his eyes darting between Yang and the counter , “Would you like some coffee? I’m buying.” 

Yang  felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She  blinked at him, turned her head to face the counter, but quickly fixed her eyes on her hands instead. 

“It’s the least I could do.” Ozpin said softly. 

After much debate, Yang had reluctantly let him order her a latte . She was thankful for the warmth it had provided, spreading through her fingers and into her bones.  The café was undoubtedly colder than it looked and Yang needed something else to distract her from the awkwardness between the man who had been helping her without so much as a thank you.

She wondered if Ozpin secretly charged her with  consultation fees, or maybe, if Taiyang Xiao Long had arranged these meetings and paid Ozpin before his untimely death. There was also that slight chance that Ozpin, who claimed he was a friend of Taiyang and who had met Summer Rose, was going head to head with the hotheaded Yang out of courtesy for the deceased. 

Ozpin looked genuinely happy today , probably the happiest Yang had ever seen him. Or maybe he was just  **_ mildly  _ ** happy as Yang remembered that the few times that they met was under stressful circumstances or when Yang hadn’t been particularly nice towards him. 

She took a long sip of her coffee, feeling the warmth of it creep down her throat and into her empty stomach.  She cursed herself and her forgetfulness.  Yang remembered that she and her friends were supposed to get lunch before Adam had asked her a favor that she now regrets agreeing to. 

Dust, now what was she going to tell  Adam ?

Yang shouldn’t have gone off on them. They might have deserved it  — Coco, Jaune, Sun,  _ even Tina,  _ but she hated how angry and out of control she had gotten, how close she had been to  _ hitting  _ someone else. 

That wasn’t who she was. Well, not anymore, at least. 

She looked up at Ozpin, watched him tuck the newspaper away as he reach ed for his accordion folder. She  could imagine how disappointed and distrustful he would be if he  ever  found out half of the rumors that spread across Beacon University about her. 

“I do hope everything has been well since we last spoke.” Ozpin smiled.

Yang nodded, refusing to look into his eyes, “I guess so.” 

She could feel his eyes on her, prodding and unfaltering. She stared into her cup instead. She swirled the contents around, distracted herself with the milk foam and inhaled the scent to try to clear her mind a little bit. 

She only needed to focus for the next twenty minutes, tops.  But t here were just a lot of things she shouldn’t have said earlier. 

Her hands were still shaking a little and there was still the heaviness in her chest that she tried to push away as she took another sip of her coffee. For a moment, it felt like Ozpin wasn’t even here, like the rest of the people in the café weren’t here with her. 

A part of her wanted to go back to the Broken Blade and apologize for the mean things she said. Because that wasn’t who she was either : a n unapologetically  mean girl — especially to her friends. She regretted calling Jaune a dipshit; a dopey, obsessed-with-love dipshit. She held on to the belief that he did fall in love a little too quickly and for any random girl  that breathed , but Jaune was far from being a dipshit. 

Sun and Coco weren’t exactly her friends. Countless times, Coco had gotten out of her way to remind Yang of the humiliation she felt when Blake turned her down — and she wasn’t even there  — but Yang had always kept her chin up and walked away. Sun, on the other hand, well, he was an accomplice to Blake’s lies. 

Together, Sun and Coco seemed like people who might openly talk about the events of this afternoon with everybody they knew. Coco had no filter and Sun talked too much, according to Neptune. The likelihood of them spreading some unsavory things about her was too damn high. 

Yang frowned into her coffee cup like it was the reason for her recent misfortunes. She couldn’t take back the things that she had said, the anger that she had thrown into the wind. Now, the Yang Xiao Long crap rumors were going to get worse and Yang had made the stupid choice of making enemies with the people who had no love nor concern for her in the first place. 

Ozpin finally sat himself down after what felt like forever. He held his coffee cup close to his chest and his free arm lay over his folder. His easy smile had gone now, but at least the calm atmosphere never once faded. 

“How have you been, Ms. Xiao Long?” Ozpin began. 

Yang forced herself to look at him for a second, shrugged and attempted a smile, “I’ve been better.” 

Ozpin looked doubtful. He looked as if he was measuring her words, trying to read her  _ mood  _ before he took one long sip of his coffee, “Ms. Rose has told me about what happened with your mother the other night.” 

Yang felt her blood run cold. 

_ Of course, this day was only going to get horrifically dreadful with each passing hour.  _

Yang had come home that night, to a shaking, fearful little girl who had been alone with her evil mother for — she should have asked how long Ruby had been alone with Raven, asked what the crazy woman had even said to convince her to let her into the apartment. 

Yang had been so consumed with her romantic tragedy, with the disappointment of missing that date that she had been dreaming of for a year  — and one that later turned out to have been  **_ another  _ ** lie in the  _ Series of Untruthful and Fabricated Falsehoods;  _ written, edited and published by Blake I-have-a-boyfriend Belladonna. 

She bit her lip to calm herself down and to reel her thoughts and feelings in. 

Now was not a time to be thinking of Blake. She would not let thoughts of  _ her  _ plague her anymore, most especially now that she might have only been just a flicker in Blake’s mind. Maybe she had been just a pest, or a leech, that needed one final, gruesome end just to get the point across , that Blake was not interested and Yang should really have known better. 

“I remember your mother.” Ozpin laughed nervously, “She looked quite intimidating the first time I saw her.” 

“She still is.” Yang murmured as she took another sip of her coffee. 

“Right.” Ozpin cleared his throat, “Let’s get down to business then, shall we?” 

Yang nodded and waited for him to continue on his own volition. If Ruby had already called him and told him all about Raven  Branwen’s visit to the apartment, then Yang no longer had anything new to tell him. She barely had anything to tell him anyway. The only times that they had ever spoken before was when he would call to reprimand her. 

But their meeting wasn’t all too unpleasant. Ozpin began with updates about the abandoned house in Patch. Yang sighed and steeled herself for another round of disappointment. True enough, Ozpin was sad to say that there have been a couple of interested buyers, but nothing ever came from their interest alone. 

“It’s a good sign.” Ozpin cheered for some reason, “Before long, there will be  **_ sure  _ ** buyers, but I think that the chances of a sale would double after a few repairs were made here and there. I’ve already contacted a friend of mine to spruce the place up a little bit.” 

“That’s great.” Yang said halfheartedly, “That might cost a fortune though.” 

“Yes, kind of.” Ozpin said softly, “But I’ll speak with my friend and request for a deferred payment. I’ll also be scheduling a meeting with the realtor to discuss sale price that would make up for the repair fees. That wouldn’t be too difficult since  — may I confirm if you are selling the estate with the remaining furniture?”

Yang nodded and briefly chewed on the brim of the cup, “It’s one way to get rid of them. I have no place for dad’s furniture in my apartment anyway and they were  _ built  _ **_ with  _ ** the house.” 

“Yes,” Ozpin whispered, “and transporting them were in Vale would cost quite a hefty sum for furniture you wouldn’t even use.” 

“Hey, it might sweeten the deal and actually get the property sold. Maybe buyers might agree to a fully-furnished hunting lodge with a huge-ass backyard you could get lost in and a basement that can easily be cleaned. Also, no neighbors!” 

Yang shrank under Ozpin’s unamused look. Thankfully, he didn’t bother commenting or chastising her. Instead, he carefully opened his accordion folder and rifled through the contents. Yang inhaled deeply. This seemed like the perfect time to interject. She took another sip of her coffee to calm her nerves and leaned closer as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. 

“Can I ask you something?” Yang whispered. 

Ozpin looked up from his search, elbows raised and a piece of paper halfway out of his folder. He quickly slipped the paper back into the folder and smiled at Yang. “That’s already a question.” 

“You are so funny.” Yang rolled her eyes and smiled and then frowned, “But yeah, I wanted to as if maybe...” 

_ This sounds bad.  _

“... maybe if...”

_ Would it be so rude, though?  _

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat. 

“Did my dad have other bank accounts I knew nothing about?” Yang spoke the words out in a single breath. 

Ozpin looked at her in  with genuine  astonishment and Yang felt like downing the rest of her coffee and sprinting back to her car. Today was  just  really not a good day and she really should  consider thinking about her words before she opened her damn mouth. But, just like earlier at the Broken Blade, the words had already been thrown into the wind and Ozpin was maybe still processing what she had just said. 

“I  suppose it wouldn’t hurt to discuss this with you again.” he said as he stretched his fingers over his accordion folder. 

She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Of course, Ozpin would have already talked to her about this, maybe after Taiyang Xiao Long’s funeral or the dozens of other times that she had gone back and forth between the house in Patch and Ozpin’s office, or maybe even the day before she finally took Ruby and a few of knickknacks back to Vale. 

She just hadn’t bothered to listen to him. She had been annoyed with the amount of paperwork involved after her father’s passing, then there was the stress of packing up and dealing with a sixteen-year-old girl who hated her guts. 

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Xiao Long.” he smiled, “You were going through a difficult period in your life and I understand that you needed time to process both the legal and emotional aspects after Mr. Xiao Long’s passing.” 

The weight in her chest suddenly didn’t feel as heavy as it had been earlier. Relief was something Yang hadn’t felt in a  while, not since the first time Ozpin had called her. A thought crossed her mind then, a plan, a promise. All she had to do was  **_ fix  _ ** things. 

Nora was right: her life sucked so much ass and it wasn’t going to get any better if all she ever did was whine and get angry. 

“To answer your question: no, Mr. Xiao Long had collected all of his remaining fortune.” Ozpin opened his accordion folder once more and began looking for another piece of paper, “Upon his death, it was divided between you and Ms. Ruby Rose and, until she turns eighteen, you are in control of her monthly stipend.” 

_ Monthly stipend?  _

“Her what?” Yang shook her head. 

“Monthly stipend.” Ozpin repeated, eyes wide and an eyebrow cocked, “We dis... Mr. Xiao Long had left half of his money to your sister, but only after she’s recognized as an adult by the state. Since you are of legal age, you were able to receive  your half of the inheritance. Mr. Xiao Long has stated in his will that the bank would transfer a monthly allowance for Ms. Rose into your bank account.” 

Yang stared at him for a moment. 

Coco Adel was right  about one thing: Yang Xiao Long had to curb her temper. If she hadn’t been too upset about returning home to Patch or  about the mere outlandishness of her predicament, maybe she would have had the good idea of listening to every single thing Ozpin had been t elling her.

If any of her research into not-getting-herself-jailed had taught her anything was that Ozpin had to explain every single lawyer-thing to Yang and to Ruby. Even if Yang would ask him over and over again, Ozpin would still have to answer. That was his job and Yang had been making it difficult for him. 

Ozpin sighed, “It’s all in the waiver you signed, Ms. Xiao Long. I suggest going through it once more?”

Yang sighed and laughed, “Yeah, definitely.” 

She stared down her coffee cup for a moment and tried to calm her heart pounding in her chest. This was good news. At least now, she wouldn’t have to  **_ try  _ ** to sell her beat-up old hatchback.  The old girl might not be as reliable as she had been a couple months ago, but her car still worked, most of the time, and that was all Yang needed. 

She thought of the times that her car had broken down on her in the middle of the road, thought of the moments that her heater had broken and how the air conditioner no longer worked at all in the sweltering heat of summer . Replacement parts were beginning to be difficult to find and the old girl still smelled like wet carpet even after a thorough wash and vacuum.

She had to face the truth: (1) her car was failing on her and it had been pretty obvious for a while now; and (2) it would be best to just get a new one anyway , save herself the trouble and hassle. 

Oh, but then there was her financial situation.  Yang was just getting way,  **_ way  _ ** ahead of herself.  Until Ruby Rose would magically turn into an adult at the  str o ke of midnight on October 31 st a year from now, Yang was stuck with a budget she feared to deviate from. 

Well, at least her life wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Her only problem now was Raven  Branwen , her mother, who greatly disapproved of Ruby Rose living with her. And one who had demanded  quite a medieval ultimatum from her daughter:  _ It’s either her or you.  _

But  Yang wasn’t going to tell Ozpin that. 

Yang had this under control. She just needed to make sure she wasn’t going to put herself and her sister in a difficult position. For now, the two of them would have to survive on Ruby’s  _ monthly stipend _ — however much that was — and Yang’s own money. 

She could handle this. 

Everything was going to be okay and Yang Xiao Long was going to make sure of it. 

Ozpin was quiet, yet thoughtful, watching her as he finished his coffee. Yang smiled back at him. She downed the rest of her almost cold latte, wanting to make her way to  Noola’s . She had to leave within t wenty minutes if she wanted to make it to her shift on time. 

Thursday ’s meeting with Ruby’s school  was drawing close and Yang was beginning to feel the nervousness boiling in her stomach.

“You shouldn’t have to worry,  Ms. Xiao Long .” Ozpin said softly as he set his empty cup aside, “your father, Tai, he thought of everything for both of you. He had always been a pretty good planner. He just struggled to put those plans into actions.” 

Yang giggled fondly . That was a fact. It was a fact she knew so well, but had forgotten before this moment. Suddenly, she frowned when a memory had popped into her head . “I think that’s the reason for the divorce.” 

She felt Ozpin’s gaze on her. Yang looked over his shoulder, at the dark blue sign of Madeleine’s Brew and the art-house cinema’s monthly poster. She felt amused that whoever had printed the poster misspelled the word  _ ADMISSION.  _ But that hadn’t been enough to get her to smile. 

She gathered her thoughts and looked straight into Ozpin’s eyes, forcing a small smile to spread across her lips. This happened years ago. Yang was over it. “My mother said that their divorce had left him a broken man. They  had been too young to start a family, a little too excited to be people they knew nothing to be: parents.”

Yang recognized the expression that etched onto Ozpin’s face. 

She had seen that look a thousand times in her lifetime, a little too much and a little too soon. She had recently seen it in  Patch  ever since she was a child , when the familiar strangers squeezed her shoulder as they filed out of the cemetery, when she had returned to Vale soon after, and when she had been locked in a room bathed in darkness, with a girl who had broken her heart far too many times for her to count. 

Pity. 

Ozpin tore his eyes away from Yang’s as he studied his hands over his accordion folder, “I’ve heard this before too. Yes, they were too young and too naïve, but your father was head over heels in love with your mother. He was devastated when she left, feeling too pressured by his enthusiasm. Taiyang Xiao Long was never the perfect man. He turned to darker, despicable ways to try to win Raven back.” 

He paused. 

Yang wished they would just change the subject. It had been  _ weeks  _ since she had even uttered her father’s name —  **_ years  _ ** since she had felt anything about him. Taiyang Xiao Long had been a ghost, shortly after they had buried the love of his life — Ruby’s mother, Summer. 

She squared her jaw and gritted her teeth. Taiyang never cared about his daughters. He only cared about his wives. 

“But you, Yang,” Ozpin continued with a gentle smile Yang wanted to wipe off of his face, “you were his sunshine. He tried harder for you.”

_ No, he didn’t. _

She forced a smile instead and swallowed the irritation back into her heart. That, too, she would keep to herself. 

Ozpin must have noticed her change in demeanor. Yang  had never  been  very good at keeping a poker face. She was an open book and wore her heart on her damn sleeves. Caution to the wind. Wisdom to the fire. Yang was a fool. 

“There were a million things he could have —  **_ should have  _ ** done better, and hundreds of bad decisions that he waded through in his life, but he deserves forgiveness too.” 

“I don’t know if I even  **_ want to  _ ** forgive him.” Yang whispered as she clenched her hands into fists over the table, “I... I can’t stop feeling  **_ angry  _ ** towards him.”

Anger. 

That had been her closest friend in the darkest of her days. Anger had been the only reason she even considered fighting for a life of her own, a life where she was free to love whoever she pleased and a life where she was loved in return. And when that life had  turned out to be a lie, anger was the one thing that had kept her from throwing herself off a bridge. 

Anger was the one thing keeping her together and tore her apart from the inside. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ozpin.” Yang sighed, “I can’t control my feelings. They’re crappy and irrational... sometimes... but they’re pretty stubborn and strong. Those are traits common in both the Xiao Long and  Branwen genes.”

Ozpin nodded. 

The two of them didn’t speak for a while. The anxiety of getting to work soon dissipated and Yang took another sip of her coffee as she looked at Ozpin’s folder. 

There was no denying that her parents had been attractive when they were younger. She had seen photos of them in their youth, carefully tucked away in the attic , along with other forgotten things . Almost everyone she met  had  never failed to mention how she looked as if she were the perfect combination of Taiyang and Raven, how she looked as charming and endearing as her father and how she looked as radiant and  _ pretty  _ like her mother. 

It annoyed her now that she realized that nobody had told her how she had gotten her father’s humor, wits and helplessness and  how she had gotten  her desire for perfection, her irritability and her almost impudent demeanor from her mother. 

Yang Xiao Long was indeed the perfect combination of them both and  that thought alone scared her. 

“It’s quite alright,  Ms. Xiao Long. ” he said softly. 

Of course, he would say that. Ozpin was no stranger to giving reassurances to grieving people. That would have been the proper response. It was a silent wish for the two of them to move on from their current topic. 

Yang scoffed, “No, it’s not. But I think you called me here for something?” 

She leaned closer and looked him straight in the eyes. She had been fighting the tears the entire day, she could still do it right here. N o one deserved her tears. 

No one would even want to see them anyway. 

Ozpin held her gaze with a look both intimidating and soothing, “It’s alright to be angry at your father, Yang. That doesn’t mean you loved him any less.” 

_ Loved him.  _

She tried to stand her ground under the weight of his gaze. She had expected him to look at her like she was some ungrateful child, but his eyes —  so much pity.

“It’s not impossible to feel more than one emotion.” Ozpin looked away, looked at his folder instead, “You have every right to be angry at Taiyang, to be disappointed in him, to be relieved...”

Yang felt like she was eighteen again, in that sweat-soaked shirt that clung to her skin, walking through the hallway and into the living room where her father had been. That was the last she had seen of him and she remembered the way he smiled at her, like she was not about to throw his heart into the fire. 

_ I need you. I need my dad.  _

Ozpin reached across the table, to place his hand over hers, “... to be sad for him, to miss him. You can feel a multitude of emotions right now and each and every single one of them is valid.”

_ It’s going to be okay.  _

Yang had no energy to move. She glanced at Ozpin’s hand over hers, tried not to feel the warmth of it seeping into her bones. His hands were soft, unlike her father’s. She looked away instead and watched as a teenage kid shuffle towards the counter. 

Ozpin leaned a little bit closer so Yang could hear as he whispered, “I can’t change what he was to you,  Ms. Xiao Long , simply because he was already everything you remember him to be.” 

Taiyang Xiao Long. He was funny and caring, loving and fragile; he tried his best, even if it had often fallen short. His heart had been broken numerous times throughout his life, but still he loved and he loved and he loved with what little was left of it. 

He had loved Raven, or at least some part of her that had loved him back a long, long time ago. He loved Yang too. He loved Summer Rose and the rest of her life that she had shared with him and he loved Ruby with the last of his love. 

Her father was not the perfect man and Yang felt a little bit more hopeless the more she remembered who he had been before the sadness consumed him. Ozpin was right. He tried harder for Yang, tried harder  _ than  _ **_ she _ ** ever had. 

He stayed.

“You don’t have to forgive him because of  _ him.”  _ Ozpin gently withdrew his hand from hers and placed it over his folder, “But it would be better to forgive him for you.” 

_ Please stay.  _

Yang felt the heat bubbling in her stomach and pooling at the corners of her eyes. Her vision began to blur and she felt the bile rising in her throat. She bit her tongue and clenched her hands until her knuckles turned white: she was not going to cry. 

Nobody deserved her tears. 

She inhaled as much air as she could, if only to push the feeling in her chest back down. Her breath was shaky as she exhaled, but she was grateful that she had managed to hold herself back. 

Yang took a moment to collect herself, to let Ozpin’s word sink in. Thankfully, the man sat quietly and looked at anything else other than her. She checked her Scroll for the time, wondering if she would have to cut their not-so-delightful discussion short so she could get to work. She had no intention of making excuses with the man who had been helping her since she drove up the steep hill to their home in Patch. 

She frowned. 

She could still stay for another ten minutes  **_ and  _ ** still make i t i n time for her shift to begin. 

Yang picked up her cup and downed what remained of the tepid coffee. Ozpin looked at her then and reached for his trusty accordion folder. She watched him pull a piece of paper out, the same one from earlier. She cocked an eyebrow when he pressed the piece of paper — face down — in front of her. 

“Before you go, Ms. Xiao Long,” he cleared his throat and looked at her as if he hadn’t just poked into her psyche, “I had called you here to bring you good news.” 

Yang sighed and smiled, “Did someone just buy the house a few seconds ago?” 

Ozpin shook his head and cleared his throat once more, turning the piece of paper over and pushing it closer to Yang, “ Remember, that t he house still needs a little bit of fixing ? ” 

Yang stared at the piece of paper in front of her. It was a printed email thread. The first thought that came into her mind was how unnecessary it was that Ozpin would even print the email if he could just simply forward it to her. 

She frowned at the wordiness of it. There were so many letters, so many characters and a link that Ozpin should have erased if he had every intention of this piece of paper to be read in an instant. Yang recognized a paragraph that Ozpin must have written due to its sheer stuffiness. And then there was that name:

_ Elizabeth Draper.  _

“What’s this?” Yang could feel her head spinning. 

Yang wanted to puke. Her legs were itching to get up and run, her hands ready to curl into fists and swing at the next person to come close to her. She could feel her chest tightening, her mind reeling and her stomach burning. She had the sudden urge to pee or to jump over the counter and drink half a carton of milk. 

She read the words over and over. 

It didn’t make sense at all. 

Mr. Ozpin,

This is unfortunate news and I deeply regret not responding sooner. The reception here in the research site is terrible. May I please schedule a call with you this weekend? I will be waiting for your response.

Sincerely,   
Elizabeth Draper

“Ruby’s aunt finally responded to my email.” Ozpin said cheerfully, “Dr. Draper and I spoke Sunday night and—”

“You spoke Sunday night?” Yang glared at him, “Well, why didn’t you tell me  ** sooner ** ?” 

Yang saw the shock and surprise in his eyes, the horror. Ozpin pulled back away from her a little bit, mouth open and eyes wide. She had gone off again, at someone who didn’t deserve her anger. Yang was beginning to think that people didn’t deserve anything from her at all. 

Not while she felt like her world was beginning to fall apart. 

“I’m sorry.” Yang bit her lip and pulled herself away as well, gently putting the piece of paper face down on the table, “I was... it hasn’t been a good week... I just wasn’t expecting her.” 

_ Wasn’t  _ **_ expecting  _ ** _ her? Ozpin has been telling you about her for the last two weeks.  _

Ozpin nodded and hummed in thought, a moment to collect himself before he ignored what Yang had just said and done, “Dr. Draper had been assigned in Mistral for an eight-month-long research —  Kuchinashi , if I recall correctly. We spoke briefly of her work.” 

_ Eight months.  _

“So , uh, when did this eight-month project beg i n?” Yang held her breath. 

“She said that the project is scheduled to finish by the end of the month.” 

That did nothing to comfort Yang. The end of the month was two weeks from now and that was two weeks until Ruby’s seventeenth birthday. The universe had always been quite unkind, but this has got to be the cruelest thing she had ever encountered. 

She never should have signed the stupid paper in the first place. Ruby wouldn’t even have ended up with her if she had just shoved her guilt aside and continued with her own life. 

But the last couple of days with Ruby had been peaceful, to say the least. The two of them finally established a certain rapport. The little girl no longer locked herself in her room, no longer complained, no longer avoided Yang. The last real bickering ended  some time ago, but Yang couldn’t actually recall when. 

They were fine. They were getting better. 

Now this  _ Liz Draper  _ was going to show up after  ** weeks  ** of silence, years of ignoring them all because Summer Rose married Taiyang Xiao Long and she had felt offended by their union. Then there was the situation with Raven and how  **_ she felt  _ ** that having Ruby Rose under  Yang’s care was a distraction, a bad thing. 

But  Yang had a plan. It might not have been the best, nor the wisest or the most desirable, but she had a plan. She would have dropped out of college, sold her crap car and worked her ass off if her mother would keep her word about giving Ruby back. Because that little girl was the only family she had left and Yang would cross oceans, brave hellish rains and walk through  _ fire  _ for her. 

_ Now what?  _

“She’s trying to come home sooner though.” Ozpin smiled. Yang could hardly breathe. “She’s requested to return to Vale this week. She said she’d let me know once she gets back to Pino Town.” 

Ozpin looked expectantly at her, cautiously, as if she was going to jump from her seat and scream at him again or, worse still, strangle him.  Of course, Yang would do no such thing, not in a million years. That was quite an extreme assumption that she mentally kicked herself for. 

Still, she calmed herself down. She was not going to lose it, not one bit. She was not going to prove every single stupid rumor about her right. No. She was much better than that. 

“She wants to meet you and  Ms. Rose next week.” Ozpin said softly, “There’s a lot to discuss, I understand, but Dr. Draper has said that there won’t be any problems if you decide to let Ruby stay with her.” 

She hadn’t meant for the rest of Ozpin’s spiel to be shut out of her head, but Yang felt as if he was talking a little too fast and a little less audibly for a moment. His lips kept moving, but the only thing Yang could process was that Dr. Elizabeth Draper and little Ruby Rose and that one afternoon in Patch and that stupid cream cheese brownie. 

Ozpin stopped talking . Yang looked at him and stared at his mouth. He stopped talking a couple seconds ago. Everyone else in the café was chattering away, the espresso machine hissed in the background and some overly chill music was playing over the speakers. 

The only thing Yang could completely comprehend was the sound of her racing heart, stopping and starting again, breaking down with each passing second. She laughed to herself, realizing that she had a little bit more in common with her car than the color. 

“Ms. Xiao Long?” she heard Ozpin repeat himself, through the haze and her clouded mind. 

“So soon?” Yang wanted to speak a little bit more loudly and clearly, but the weight in her chest could only let her words out in a whisper, “I thought two weeks was too soon and now I only have seven days  **_ at most _ ** ?” 

“Well, we can  tak — ”

“Ruby just started school!” Yang forced herself to laugh, “It’s only been three weeks, but I’ve gone through  **_ dust  _ ** just to convince the school administration that I didn’t kidnap her. It’s going to give her serious whiplash if she has to transfer again.” 

Ozpin cleared his throat, “Transferring schools can be quite a common occurrence in the first couple of months of the school year. The move will be stressful, but  it would be best to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Ms. Rose is a capable young woman, I’m sure she can handle a change in atmosphere, especially if it provides permanence.” 

Yang gripped the edges of the table and leaned forward. Permanence. She could see the doubt swimming in Ozpin’s eyes. She had had enough of it. But he had a reason to doubt her, to distrust her. She looked at her own reflection in his glasses, distorted and angry. 

_ Angry.  _

Yang Xiao Long was angry again. 

She loosened her grip on the table and leaned back a little. She could preach all she wanted about not being angry, but here she was letting it get the best of her. Yang didn’t know if she should be thankful or upset that Ozpin sat there dumbfounded, waiting for her to relax a little before he spoke. 

“Ms. Xiao Lo — ”

“Yang.” she said softly, casting her gaze to the floor. 

“Yang.” Ozpin said softly, his fingers twitching over the printed e-mail on the table, “This isn’t goodbye.” 

_ But why does it feel like one?  _

Yang simply nodded, feeling ashamed to even let him see the pain that slowly burned in her chest. 

“Dr. Draper just wants to meet you and talk next week.” Ozpin continued, “No one’s going to keep you from your sister. I’m not saying that it’s best that  Ruby should stay  with your mother’s cousin. I won’t presume to know what’s best for her, but you have to put yourself in the equation too.”

_ It’s either her or you.  _

She sighed. The coffee felt like acid in her  stomach and she wanted to vomit, but for the first time in the last couple of days, Yang felt... relieved, somewhat. She had options and, though they may not be good, they sure as dust weren’t as terrible as leaving Ruby. 

_ Again.  _

Yang closed her eyes, took a long, deep breath and sighed until she could hear her breath shake, “I need to think about this.”

“I understand, Ms. Xiao Long.” Ozpin said softly, glancing at his wrist watch, “I’m afraid we would have to cut this short. I need to get back to Patch and I do believe that you have to get to work.” 

Yang nodded, tried to smile, but settled on biting her lip instead. 

“If you ever need me, I’ll be a call away.” Ozpin took the piece of paper from the table, glanced at Yang for a moment before folding it in half and pulling his gaudy pen, “I’m giving you Dr. Draper’s number as well. I think it  would be better if the two of you get to schedule your  meeting to yourselves, but I can be present, if you prefer.” 

“That’s fine.” Yang watched him scrawl Dr. Draper’s number behind the slightly crumpled piece of paper. He had intended for Yang to have it after all. 

She thought about just balling the damned thing up and throwing it into the trash the moment Ozpin would leave. Dr. Elizabeth Draper, fancy scientist lady who had been away on an eight-month research project, fancy scientist lady who had cut herself off from them for sixteen years, fancy scientist lady who put her life on hold to get back. 

For Ruby. 

Yang looked on as Ozpin tried to slip the piece of paper between her hand and the table. He looked worried once more and Yang was beginning to wonder if he would ever stop looking so helpless whenever the two of them would speak. 

“You haven’t...” Yang swallowed the lump in her throat, “You haven’t told Ruby yet, haven’t you?” 

Ozpin blinked at her for half a second before he smiled, “No. I feel that you should be the one to do it.” 

Yang turned away and nodded before she could bring herself to say something, “Good.” 

“You are her sister after all.” 

Yang knew what he meant. He meant well. Still, that didn’t stop her from feeling like it was a mockery of who she was to Ruby. 

“I wish you best of luck, Ms. Xiao Long.” Ozpin said as he stood, stretching his hand out to either assist Yang or shake her hand.

“You, too.” Yang got up, refusing his help, but accepting the handshake with whatever smile she could muster, “And thank you, Mr. Ozpin. I truly appreciate your help. I’m sorry I go off sometimes.” 

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Xiao Long.” 

Yang bit her tongue and kept herself from correcting him. She had to move on and accept that he was never going to stop calling her  _ Ms. Xiao Long.  _ He had already done a lot for her and a whole lot more for Ruby. 

The two of them exited the café in silence that was both comfortable and heavy. They both knew that there was nothing more to be said, but Yang knew there was still more to be done, still more she had to do. 

Ozpin walked with her to her car. She looked into the Broken Blade, half-expecting to see Jaune, Sun and Coco watching her, condemning her every move with silent fury and disappointment, but there was only Tina there, reading a magazine like she had been when Yang walked in. 

“A word of warning, Ms. Xiao Long.” Ozpin stopped behind her as she dug her keys out of her pockets. She turned to look at him. “Apparently, a storm is heading this way. It’s all over the news.” 

“That explains the frequent rains.” Yang unlocked her car. 

“Yes, well, it would be wise to carry an umbrella at all times.” Ozpin chuckled and then cleared his throat, “And to get your car checked and avoid muddy roads.” 

Yang rolled her eyes and smiled. She remembered the first time they met: Yang driving up to their old house in Patch, how she had to push her old hatchback a little bit further to keep it from rolling down the hill, how rude she had been to him. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” she smiled. 

They exchanged brief goodbyes before Yang drove to  Noola’s , a couple of minutes late. Ms. Delaney smiled as she walked through the door. Velvet smiled at her for a moment before she turned to go into the cleaning stations. for a moment before she turned to go into the  grooming  stations.

Saturday night still hadn’t happened between the two of them and Yang was still glad that Velvet hadn’t pressed into the matter. She had a lot to deal with at the moment and this thing with Blake should have ended the moment the girl rejected her. 

Maybe Velvet hadn’t meant to encourage Yang to keep trying. Maybe she had meant for Yang to move on. 

It was too late for that now. 

Saturday night  ** had  ** happened, the same way the  _ gret _ _ dinner  _ fiasco happened, the same way Blake had lied to her again and again, the same way her father never called, the same way her mother threatened to stop paying for her education. 

Yang changed in the backroom and sorted through her problems, like a real adult would. There was nothing she could do about Blake lying to her, nothing she could do about her father being dead. There was something that could be done about her mother though, about her financial problems that keep getting problematic with each passing day. 

Elizabeth Draper’s number was neatly tucked inside her notebook, in her bag that hung in her locker. 

She would have to face the facts and Ozpin was right: she had to put herself in the equation. Yes, now that she knew that there was still  _ some  _ money for Ruby’s college education, Yang wouldn’t have to be too scared if Raven would cut her off. 

But then again, Raven had given her two weeks to go through with her demands. Elizabeth Draper wanted to see them sooner than that. 

_ Liz.  _

_ Dr. Elizabeth Draper.  _

There was a reason why Yang signed that damned document:  so her little sister wouldn’t have to stay with complete strangers and despite being a cousin of Summer Rose, Elizabeth Draper was a  stranger.  She had walked out of their lives and Yang had never heard of her until a couple weeks ago. 

Business was relatively slow today and Yang had to take inventory just to get herself something to do. Thinking about  _ Liz flipping Draper  _ was beginning to exhaust her. Usually, she and Velvet would gossip in the grooming stations, talk about Louie, about Ms. Delaney’s love life, about their friends and, sometimes, Blake. 

Yang could feel the ache in her chest once more. 

She and Velvet weren’t exactly best friends, no. She was Blake’s best friend and Yang was just her work-friend. Still, it hurt that whatever drama that filled the air between Yang and Blake had affected her friendship with Velvet. Yang knew that Velvet would always be on Blake’s side and she had no business expecting her to be on  hers too. That didn’t make sense. 

But maybe her miserable life could stay out of work.  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers was sort of like a different plane of existence, one where Raven  Branwen didn’t exist, where the embarrassment of Blake’s rejection didn’t haunt Yang every other day, where Elizabeth Draper didn’t stand to threaten the life Yang had set out for her and Ruby. 

At four-thirty, just like clockwork, Velvet left  Noola’s with a quick smile and wave to all of them. Yang could feel her chest tightening once more, wanting to run after her and talk. It didn’t matter if she wanted to talk about what happened on Saturday night or if Velvet had made sure to put the cleaning equipment back in its place ; Yang  _ missed  _ Velvet. 

But Yang simply watched the door close behind Velvet and she walked back into the grooming station to check that Velvet had indeed put everything back in their proper places. 

Yang looked at the cheap speakers in the corner, far from the showerheads and the scissors and shampoo bottles. She couldn’t remember when she had last turned it on, seeing as how she was the only one who even used it. Velvet and Ms. Delaney didn’t really mind working in silence and Louie preferred putting his headphones on. 

She made her way towards it, plugging the speakers in as she pulled her Scroll out of her pocket. She stared at her reflection for a moment. She wasn’t the same as she had been before Ozpin had first called her. She turned the display on, chuckled at the canted shot of Ren’s back and Nora’s forehead as her  lockscreen image then quickly frowned. 

No messages. 

She should have known better. There really was no need to unlock her Scroll and open her messages, really no need to click on  _ her  _ name and read the last message over and over like she hadn’t read it a hundred times before. 

I’m on my way. We can talk for a couple minutes. Then    
I’ll head straight home.    
Blake, 09/16/17, 9:57 PM 

Yang sighed and plugged her Scroll onto the speakers instead. Slowly, it was beginning to feel a little too far-fetched that Blake would lie to her like that. Yang Xiao Long was just a fool who felt impervious enough to ask the pretty girl next to her in Gender Studies out. Blake wouldn’t lie to someone so insignificant, but she did and then she didn’t, but it wasn’t the lie that it seemed to be. 

Her head was throbbing and the coffee Ozpin had bought her was trying to make a comeback. Yang shuffled her playlist, adjusted the volume and let the synthesizers play. At least this song loved her despite her being a  _ big mess.  _

Blake must have her reasons, however twisted they may be, for telling Yang that she had had a boyfriend. It could be that Adam was telling the truth, that  **_ he  _ ** was Blake’s secret boyfriend and that Yang had just been caught in the crossfire when she went to that party a couple weeks ago. Blake hadn’t interacted with her much before that night and Yang’s crap speech about  _ defending herself  _ did little to convince Blake she wasn’t as tactless as everybody made her out to be. 

But maybe she should call Blake. 

Yang could always talk to Adam, could always ask him his side of the story. They were friends! And what more could Blake do to hurt her that she hadn’t already done? If anything, maybe if she could get Blake to tell her the truth, then Yang would finally find relief, clear the air enough for her to just move on with her life. 

The song was getting good, Yang thought, waiting for the song’s bridge to drop some forgotten insight into her predicament when it had changed into the familiar sound of her Scroll ringing. She groaned as she stared down at the unknown number calling her. 

If the last couple of weeks had taught her anything, it’s that she ought to answer whatever call that came in. Yang wasn’t alone in the world anymore. It could be from Ruby’s school, or it could be that Ozpin had given  _ Liz flipping Draper  _ her number. It could be the lottery, telling her she had won a million lien and that all of her problems were going away. 

A girl could dream. 

She pulled the audio jack out, took the call and pressed the device to her ear , ”This is Yang Xiao Long. Who is this?” 

Yang could hear two voices in the back, deep and anxious before she heard a familiar voice, “Hi, Yang, It's Adam.” 

“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.” Yang looked to the door, hoping Ms. Delaney wouldn’t walk in on her, not really wanting an audience. 

“Sorry.” Adam sighed , “Would you... Would it be alright if you came over to the Lambda House today?” 

“I...” 

“I know it’s a little out of your way, but my father says it’s very important.” 

Arthur Taurus. Yang remembered him. She had always thought that her name rolled off the tongue and  _ Yang  _ wasn’t so difficult to remember on its own, but he called her Yam and had asked her things she wished she would hear from Raven. 

“I’m at work right now.” Yang whispered, “I could come over in an hour and a half, maybe?” 

“That’s fine.” Adam sounded relieved, “An hour and a half is fine. Again, I’m sorry for the short notice, but it really is important, Yang.”

“Always happy to help.” she nervously chuckled, “Hey, Ad am?”

“Yes, Yang?” 

“Where’d you get my number?” she whispered and scratched the back of her neck, “I don’t recall ever giving it to you.” 

Adam was quiet for a moment, but his response sounded cold, “I asked Neptune.” 

_ Neptune.  _

That had been... odd. Neptune wouldn’t really give her number away. He had every opportunity to do it when Yang had stopped talking to him to run after girls who had boyfriends, but he kept Yang’s number to himself. 

Until now. 

But then again Adam Taurus was the leader of their fraternity and he and Yang were friends. Sure, Yang would have given Adam her number if he had asked, but she thought it was pretty convenient that Neptune was there. After all, their one date wasn’t a secret and Neptune had been teased and taunted that he never got a second date. 

Yang could hear Coco Adel screaming at the back of her mind:  _ he’s lying to you.  _ She bit her lip. That wasn’t an unbelievable thing, after all. If Blake could lie to her face, then Adam could do the same. Yang’s  gullibility was the reason why she felt so miserable anyway. Besides, it wasn’t wrong to be doubtful sometimes and Adam was her friend. 

He wouldn’t lie to her if she asked. 

“Hey, Ada — ”

_ Click.  _

Yang pulled her Scroll away from her face and stared at the End Call screen. She sighed as she took another look at the empty grooming  station . She could spend her last hour browsing through social media while she waited for the rare closing-time customer that she would have to shoo away. 

She opted to clean the backroom instead and mop the floors. Ms. Delaney didn’t argue against it, she herself was staring into the void in the palm of her hands, probably  _ not- _ chatting with Mr. Pirelli. 

It wasn’t a bad idea to accept Adam’s invitation to the Lambda House, right? The other boys wouldn’t mess with her, not while their president or whatever had invited her, not to mention their number one financer was there, waiting for her. 

The thought of walking into a house full of boys horrified Yang, but Neptune would be there. Unless, of course, he was out on solicitation duty. Jaune and Sun may or may not be there and Yang dreaded running into them. 

No, this was going to be fine. She trusted  Adam  — a little bit  — and his father had asked her to come. Yang could hear Raven screaming in her head this time, mocking her for even second-guessing what she had to do. 

Yang could feel the fear pulsating in her veins as she cleaned most of  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, as she changed out of her work clothes and helped Ms. Lulu Delaney close up the store, as she hopped into her car and slowly made her way back to Beacon. She felt it as she parked her hatchback as close to the Lambda House as she could. 

The flames had now swallowed the kitchen whole, but Yang trudged on until she stood in front of the door. She knocked and forced herself to calm down. There was nothing to fear. She was just being irrational. 

A red-haired boy opened the door and looked her up and down with an irritated expression. She whispered and stuttered that Adam had asked to see her and put on a fearless expression as he let her into the lion’s den. He had been kind enough to lead Yang to Adam’s  _ office, _ where he and his father would certainly be arguing about the fraternity. 

The Chi Rho Delta Lambda House didn’t feel as crowded as the last time she had been here. There  was a dozen of the brothers here, all of them watching her as she made her way to Adam. They looked... hostile. Yang wasn’t sure if it was because of their current situation or if they held a grudge against her for trashing their smoking area. She found some comfort in the absence of Cardin Winchester though and the fact that she was now standing outside of Adam’s office door. 

The red-haired boy left her without a single word. 

Yang immediately knocked, feeling all too vulnerable and alone, in a house, full of boys. This was an incredibly stupid idea.  _ Dust.  _

She was grateful when the door flew open and Adam stood in front of her, a smile on his face and a hand that had quickly stretched out to hold hers. He led her inside his office, led her right in front of his father, who stood to attention and held his hand out to Yang.

“Ah, Yang, how good to see you again.” he laughed as Yang fervently shook his hand, “Thank you for coming on short notice.” 

“It’s not a problem, sir.” Yang laughed nervously and bit her tongue. She hadn’t really come here solely for Adam and Yang would rather not have her mother pay her another visit anytime soon. 

“Please sit.” Arthur Taurus gestured to the seat closest to Yang. 

As Yang sat herself down, she took a moment to study the office. It was a sizable room and right in the middle was a reddish, wooden desk and a fancy black chair where Mr. Taurus sat in. Yang was seated on a plush armchair, opposite an identical one where Adam sat himself down. There were bookshelves all around them, display cases and picture frames with creepy-looking dudes smiling down at them. 

“Yang, darling.” Arthur cleared his throat and waited until Yang turned her attention to him, “It has come to my attention that my son here has spoken to  you about the current little hiccup within the fraternity.”

Yang’s eyes widened as she glanced at Adam. He looked uncomfortable, squirming in his seat and avoiding eye contact with his father. She looked back at Arthur Taurus and smiled, hoping that her charms would work in her favor. 

“He has mentioned it to me.” Yang exclaimed, trying not to squirm in her own seat under the serious gaze of Mr. Taurus. 

Mr. Taurus was quiet for a moment,  squinting at Yang before he turned his sights to Adam and then to his hands on the desk, “Well, I don’t understand why my son would bother someone outside of the fraternity with his mistake, but it could be because you seem like a good young woman.” 

Yang felt heat rise to her cheeks, “It’s probably because Jaune and I — ”

Adam coughed. 

They all turned to him, watched him violently cough into his hand. Yang wanted to get up and pat him on the back or offer to get water for him, but she saw the flicker in his eyes, the quiet warning that she had so often used on Ruby when they were younger:  _ keep quiet.  _

“Would you like to get yourself some water, Adam?” Mr. Taurus deadpanned, scratching his mustache as Adam got up and circled the desk. 

Yang could only conclude that Adam wanted her to keep quiet about Jaune. She looked at his back, pouring himself a glass of water from a decanter set on a side table behind his father. Adam glanced over at Yang, shook his head as he slowly returned to his seat. 

She looked at the side table, surprised that she hadn’t exactly seen it when she first walked in and that the decanter was filled with water instead of the typical whiskey. She shook her head. She had seen far too many gangster movies. 

She looked around the room again, noticing the most out-of-place sleek black bureau in this room full of antique stuff. It sat between the side table and the display case, both either reddish brown and heavily lacquered. 

Arthur Taurus waited until Adam sat himself down before he returned his attention to Yang, “Now, what was it you were saying about this Jaune fellow?”

“Jaune and I had a class together last year.” Yang quickly supplied, “Adam had asked me to talk to him, but Jaune and I aren’t exactly  ** that  ** close and I haven’t seen him around campus lately.” 

Arthur Taurus studied her, eyes boring into her. Yang was too exhausted for his doubt. It felt like she had been to hell and back in only a single day. She longed to leave the Lambda House and crawl into her bed, shut the world out for a single night. 

Mr. Taurus settled into a frown and turned to Adam instead, “You have got to deal with this yourself. Get this all under control and keep the girl quiet. I don’t want to hear any more problems from you, do you understand, Adam?” 

Yang felt very afraid. Was Arthur Taurus talking about her? Was she the girl that he referred to? 

“Understood.” Adam said grimly. 

Arthur briskly stood, bid Yang a quick and cheerful goodbye before he walked out of the office. It was as if the man hadn’t just sounded like he threatened her, as if  _ keep the girl quiet  _ was such a normal thing to say. Yang looked at Adam expectantly, eyes pleading for him to answer the questions she couldn’t form into words. He simply leaned forward and sighed. 

“Was he talking about me?” Yang whispered, her lips quivering and her insides twisting. 

Adam wouldn’t hurt her, right? 

He sat back up and looked at her with a blank expression on his face, “No.” 

That did little to ease Yang’s mind. Adam looked menacing without that boyish grin on his lips. The circles under his eyes were darker than they had been earlier and he looked as if he had been thrown out of a moving vehicle, unkempt and restless. 

Yang slightly jumped when Adam abruptly stood from his seat. He  circled the desk, headed straight for the water decanter and poured two glasses of water. He set one in front of Yang while he downed his as he sat on the leatherback chair that his father had just vacated. 

She didn’t want to seem impolite, taking a long sip of the water before setting it back down in front of her. 

“Have you spoken with Jaune yet?” Adam demanded, setting his glass down a little too harshly. 

Yang reached for her glass and tried to swallow her fear down , “He... he won’t listen to me.” 

Adam didn’t look pleased, not a little bit. Yang could see the anger fizzling in his eyes, making her quake and shiver in her seat. Adam just sighed and Yang took it as a sign to empty her glass of water, suddenly feeling the heat burning inside of her. 

“Did he mention  **_ anything  _ ** at all to you?” he said through gritted teeth. 

Yang shook her head and kept her eyes on her lap. She could feel his disappointment caressing her cheeks and Yang was afraid to look at him and see the anger that she could feel was there. Still, the interrogation continued and all she could do was endure it. 

“Did he tell you what he was planning?” his voice rose.

Yang kept her mouth shut. 

_ To get you kicked out of Beacon.  _

“Did you meet with him outside campus?”

_ He asked me to meet him at a hobby shop called the Broken Blade.  _

“Was he alone or was someone with him? 

_ He was with Sun and Coco Adel was there.  _

“Did he tell you anything about the ATSP?” 

_ The what?  _

“Adam,” Yang turned to him, utterly confused, “He wouldn’t even  **_ speak  _ ** to me.” 

Adam glared at her and reached for his glass of water, “Did he mention Blake?”

Yang was definitely confused now. Blake Belladonna? His girlfriend who hated him? Was she working with Jaune to get Adam kicked out of Beacon? That would explain why Coco was there then. Maybe Blake was going to meet them there. 

Maybe Yang was just a pawn after all. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yang whispered. 

In the blink of an eye, Adam stood from his seat and threw the glass he was holding to the wall behind Yang. She was stunned and terrified, her eyes locking to the display case right in front of her. She could hear him huff and puff. She jumped when his hands slammed against the table and he forcefully sat himself down. 

She couldn’t  bear to utter a single word, let alone get up and run for her life. The best she could do was close her eyes shut and repeat what she had just said with as much courage as she could muster. 

Adam was silent for a few more seconds and Yang was startled when he had slowly gotten up from his seat, “I’m sorry for the mess.” 

Yang nodded, but kept herself from making a single sound. 

“Help yourself to the water. Calm yourself down.” Adam headed for the door, “I’m going to get someone to clean up this mess and then I’ll walk you back to your car.”

Yang chewed on her lip and waited for him to leave, too afraid to get up from her seat and wash her fear down with the water he had offered. 

When she heard the door open, she turned to watch Adam stop in his tracks. He turned to her as he kept his hand on the doorknob, a little less angry, but definitely still dangerous. 

“I’m sorry.” he murmured, “I’m just a little stressed and we need to secure the situation or else I get kicked out of Beacon and bring down twelve unlucky bastards with me.” 

He closed the door with a gentle click. Yang exhaled the breath she had been holding, a little too loudly than she had intended. She held the glass in her hands and was surprised to find herself trembling. She managed to get to her feet and keep herself steady as she poured herself another drink, leaning on the bureau as she tried to wash the fear down. 

She poured herself another drink and then another and another until the decanter was empty. Still, the fear remained and her fingers still trembled and her knees were growing weak. There was truth in Coco’s words, that Adam Taurus was a dangerous man. There was no denying it now and a part of Yang felt that maybe he was capable of lying to her too. 

But could he be capable of attempting to kill someone? 

Yang stared at the door and felt her pulse quicken at the thought of him returning. She looked at the broken shards of glass on the floor instead, how close it had been to her head as he chucked it in her direction. 

She turned back to the bureau and held firmly to keep herself from toppling over. Her stupid knees were still shaking, pulling her backwards, but Yang had been quick enough to grab hold of two of the bureau’s handles. She squeaked when one of them slid open. She quickly clamped her hand on the top corner and hauled herself up, heart hammering in her rib cage from the fear, adrenaline and almost falling. 

She stared into the open drawer as she tried to catch her breath. It had notebooks, torn envelopes, a desk clock box and a small, weathered handheld camera. 

She looked behind her shoulder once more, at the door where Adam could walk in at any moment. She really ought to close the damn drawers and get back to her seat. She had already emptied the decanter while he was away.  It felt dangerous to be standing in front of what looked like a top-secret bureau with a drawer open. 

She gently closed the drawer, made her way back to her seat and waited until Adam returned with an irritated boy who carried a broom and dustpan. 

Thankfully, Adam was silent as he led Yang out of the Lambda House. The other brothers withered as they passed, turning their attention back to whatever menial thing they were doing. Yang felt her fear and panic ebb away with each step she took closer to the exit and she was as calm as she could be when Adam had finally opened her car door for her. 

The fear was still there, eating at her. There was truth to Coco’s words and Blake’s reaction when she had seen them outside of that fancy restaurant on Saturday night. 

_ Get away from her! _

She looked lovely that night, Yang had to admit to herself. She tried to remember what she had seen of Blake that night, the scowl on her immaculate face, how she had put on eyeshadow and how she looked as put-together as she had always been to Yang. 

Yang could feel the panic dissipating the more she thought of Blake and the further she had gotten from Adam. 

There had to be a reason why Blake lied to her, but  ** dust,  ** Yang just wanted to sleep for the rest of the week. 


	20. Peer Over and Not Forget

_ Elizabeth Draper.  _

** Dr.  ** Elizabeth Draper, a scientist who had been in  Kushinachi , Mistral for the past eight months, had no idea that a certain  Taiyang Xiao Long had passed away almost a month ago, leaving behind his two daughters, Yang and Ruby. 

Ruby should have gone to her immediately after Yang refused. 

No, that wasn’t it. 

Ozpin –  **_ and _ ** Ruby – knew Yang was going to refuse. Dust, they must have counted on it. Yang had been gone for the last three years, no hide nor hair, not a word, not a call, not a stupid email. Ruby had even admitted that she had thought Yang  _ died  _ at some point in her absence. 

Apparently, her decision never even mattered. Yang was just a temporary solution to a problem that she had started the moment she ran away from Patch. 

_ Holy fuck.  _

The last couple of weeks were beginning to wear her down. Her muscles tensed and no matter how much sleep Yang tried to get for herself, even on weekends, it was still never enough. She lay awake most nights, thoughts and memories and heartaches swirling through her head. 

Last night, she thought of Blake until sleep finally took hold of her conscience. 

Yang had spent the better part of last night cowering under her sheets, still reeling from that meeting with Adam. That glass of water flew  **_ so close  _ ** to her head! She tried to drown the fear out instead, tried to tune it out with her  **_ other  _ ** problems, with her miserable romantic life, which snowballed into theories and lies and mysteries that surrounded the girl she couldn’t bring herself to hate. 

Yang didn’t know what to believe in. 

Yang didn’t know  ** who ** to believe. 

She tried to piece the entire conundrum together, from start to finish, with what little that she knew of the other side. Her involvement started when she had asked Blake out on a date, but had been immediately shot down. If memory served, Adam told her that he and Blake were already dating when that happened and that they weren’t publicly official because his father didn’t approve of their relationship. 

_ Useless information. Knowing all this didn’t change anything or shine a light on anything. _

But then there was the mention of a girl. Coco had claimed that Adam had tried to kill someone and Arthur Taurus had instructed Adam to  _ keep the girl quiet.  _ The only girl in Adam’s life had been Blake, but Adam wouldn’t hurt Blake, right? Sure, she loved messing with people’s emotions, but for heavens’ sake,  **_ why couldn’t she stop thinking about her? _ **

Then there was that ATSP thing that Adam had asked her. He might have mentioned it to her before. It could have been that night when she should’ve been with Blake. Yang and Adam had talked about a lot of things that night, and yesterday, and oh, he seemed so sweet and gentle and  _ so attractive.  _ He had been kind to her. He had understood what Yang was going through. He had been her friend. 

No. No, that wasn’t it either. He only fueled her disdain and anger with his pity and lies. 

Yang had awoken a hundred times more exhausted than she had been the night before. All of these lies plagued her dreams, terrors running after her as she ran away. She had seen Blake and Adam, pointing and laughing at her. She had seen Dr. Elizabeth Draper, or a form that Yang had thought was her, frowning and calling her a child. 

Everything was going to shit and all Yang could do was feel sorry for herself. 

She managed to get herself out of bed, leaving her Scroll under her pillow as she got ready for the day. Wednesdays had always been a little bit hectic, but tomorrow was going to be worse: she had a meeting with Ruby’s school. Then there was still Dr. Elizabeth Draper’s number in her bag. 

Yang sighed as she got out of the shower, the warm water at least helped ease her tense muscles a little. 

Ruby was standing by the door when she got out, a towel over her little arms and her silver eyes glued to the floor. They hadn’t talked much at all, not since Raven had stopped by, no doubt having called Ruby  _ the Ghost of Summer Rose, _ as if her own name didn’t matter. 

Yang pulled her towel tighter around her chest and opened her mouth a little to bid Ruby a good morning. She had forgotten just how quick Ruby could get when she didn’t want to speak. The little girl just smiled and ducked into the bathroom in the blink of an eye. 

She let it go. It was Yang’s turn to prepare breakfast and she needed to get her mind off of this problem with Adam and Blake and to distract herself from the dread that gnawed at her. 

She pulled out whatever of her clothes looked acceptable and smelled clean. She really had to find the time to do the laundry as soon as possible and she wished that the building had its own laundry room. Besides, the rent wasn’t exactly  ** that  ** cheap. 

The apartment was beginning to feel a little too small anyway. 

Yang studied the living room area and remembered how it was the roomiest part of the apartment, but now there were more things on the coffee table and the couch shouldn’t even be in that angle. She frowned at Ruby’s scattered text books near the television set and... 

_ Those sneakers shouldn’t even be  _ **_ near  _ ** _ this part of the apartment.  _

It was much worse in the kitchen. Yang sighed at the number of dishes she had to clean and how Ruby’s system didn’t really mesh well with hers. She wouldn’t even bother going into her little sister’s makeshift bedroom. 

The apartment was different now. Sure, Yang missed the privacy and the freedom to come and go as she pleased. She missed cleaning on her own time, leaving her belongings just about anywhere and finding them all where she had left them. She missed being able to walk around the apartment naked and to sing and dance without an audience that would tell her off or ridicule her.

This wasn’t the home Yang had built for herself. This was utter chaos. And yet this felt more a home than the  _ hunting lodge  _ in Patch ever had been. 

Because now, with Ruby here, she realized that all the things she loved to do when she lived alone were either impractical, stressful and kind of gross, actually. Except the leaving her belongings around and finding them there after a couple of hours. 

Ruby’s presence just put a new perspective into her life, like why not spend a few more hours in the apartment you pay rent for? Why not just clean up right after you make a mess, that seems easier? And walking around the apartment naked wasn’t exactly something that she should be doing in the first place because maybe  Pyrrha didn’t do  ** that. **

Singing and dancing? Those things weren’t exactly Yang’s strong suits, but they had always been better with a partner and Ruby Rose, little sister extraordinaire, the crybaby, monkey-face and cookie monster, had always been young Yang Xiao Long’s partner in crime. 

And now fancy scientist lady, Dr. Elizabeth who-the-flip-does-she-think-she-is Draper, was a threat to this home. 

Not on Yang Xiao Long’s watch!

She signed that damned document, she had agreed to be Ruby’s guardian, she was going to be the one who gets to take care of her. This was her chance to make up for leaving in the first place and no one, not even fancy-pants scientist lady Elizabeth, or Raven, was going to get in her way. 

But  _ dust  _ was Yang’s way littered with potholes and cracked pavements. 

It was tremendously difficult when said partner-in-crime rushed out of the bathroom, trailing water behind as she rushed into her bedroom. Yang barely even turned around when she heard her bedroom door click shut. 

Now there was just the matter of telling her all about this long-lost aunt. Yang would have laughed at how absurd and melodramatic everything was turning out to be, but this was her life and unfortunately, her real life was much more dramatic and less mellow. 

It was Wednesday morning. Yang did owe Ruby a conversation about Saturday night and it has been four silent days and they barely exchanged pleasantries. Her relationship and conversations with Velvet were actually much more successful than this one. 

The entire morning, Yang had tried to muster up the courage to talk. Maybe they didn’t have to talk about Dr. Draper just yet. Ozpin said he hadn’t spoken to Ruby about  her — and Yang had no intention of telling Ruby not to talk to him — so, maybe she could deal with that issue  ** after  ** they talk about the Raven situation and maybe after tomorrow’s meeting with the school administration. 

Now seemed like the perfect time to ask, like the million other times since Sunday morning, but it took one look at the sad little girl, hunched over her delicious breakfast and orange juice, the little frown on her face and that angry stare she cast at the plate, and Yang kept her mouth shut. 

Eight-year-olds were stressful, but teenagers? Yang didn’t know how to deal with them. Teenagers who had lost too many loved ones? Yang was drawing blanks on that department, even for herself. 

“I’m going ahead.” Ruby announced as she pushed her plate away and got to her feet, “I  gotta meet my friend before school starts.” 

Yang blinked for a couple seconds, watching Ruby swing her bag over her shoulders and poke her hands through the straps of her backpacks, “Friend? What friend?” 

This was the first time that Yang had heard of any  _ friends  _ before and maybe she should have asked about Ruby’s life outside her cramped apartment, but Yang had been busy. She had her own problems to wade through too. 

_ Fuck.  _

Was she becoming like her father? 

Ruby groaned as she turned back to Yang, “I made a friend last week.” 

“What’s their name?” Yang shook her fears aside. Shy Ruby Rose had made a friend! That was incredible news, that was something worth throwing a party over. 

Ruby had always been shy and Yang had always been her friend — she never failed to say so. But then Yang couldn’t exactly expect for them to remain best friends when she packed up and left Ruby to whatever boring chores there were to do in Patch? 

Ruby had made a friend, Yang repeated to herself. Her little sister had opened up to her after  **_ four  _ ** long days. 

“Penny.” Ruby murmured. 

Yang couldn’t help but feel the swell of pride spread across her chest and a smile on her lips. Ruby had made a friend. She didn’t have to be alone. She had someone she could talk to like other kids, like she did with Ren and Nora and  Pyrrha and Weiss — maybe, maybe not. 

Ruby hade made a friend and Yang couldn’t help but feel like a storm cloud about to rain on her little sister’s parade. 

_ I have to tell her about Dr. Draper.  _

“That’s wonderful!” Yang forced herself to maintain her smile. 

She felt like she should definitely say something. Now was as good a time as any. She had to just open her damned mouth, tell Ruby all about Dr. Draper, tell her that her more financially-stable and fancy-scientist aunt who probably had a well-furnished home in the bright suburban  Pino Town was ready to take her away from Yang’s shithole of an apartment. 

Ruby sighed loudly and rushed to the front door, jangling her keys as she went before Yang could protest, “I’m  gonna go now. Bye. See you later.” 

Yang stared at the door as she listened for her sister’s steps to fade away as she left. 

She should be a little bit happier for her sister. She should be teasing her about it, should be demanding to meet this Penny and figuring out how to embarrass Ruby in front of her new friend, not worrying about how to tell Ruby that she might have to say goodbye to her new friend. 

But she wasn’t going to tell Ruby that. No, she was going to tell Ruby about Dr. Draper, how she had finally responded to Ozpin’s emails and how she wanted to meet them next week. Yang was not going to hand Ruby over like some object. No, Yang had a choice in this matter. That’s what the document was for. This time, Ruby had a choice too. 

Though, truth be told, that was what Yang feared the most. 

She swept those thoughts aside. She had to get to class soon and survive the onslaught of quizzes, tests and homework on top of her job, her bills, taking care of Ruby, Blake, Adam, Velvet,  Jaune and the other people that came and went in Yang’s life. 

Everything else had been a blur though. Try as she might, her nightmares came to the forefront of her mind, begging for attention and screaming at her. 

As Yang slid into her car after her last class, she wondered if she had washed the dishes in the sink. She wondered if she had even gone to her second class of the day or if she had been late for her first one. As she sat down behind the steering wheel, she pulled out her Scroll and rummaged through the photos for her schedule. 

When she was sure that she didn’t  _ secretly  _ have another class to get to, Yang went her merry way to  Noola’s , where she would have to go through all of the things that she had throughout the better part of her day, worrying her life away — and with the added bonus of dancing around Velvet. 

_ Hurray! _

Ms. Delaney was the first to greet her as she walked through the door, smiling at a customer who acknowledged Yang with quick nod. Yang excused herself as she ducked behind the counter, grabbing her apron as she slipped into the hallway that led to the backroom. 

She saw Velvet as she passed the grooming stations, giving a coffee-colored Pomeranian one last comb before handing her off to the owner outside. Velvet looked up for a moment and locked eyes with Yang. 

There was the hesitation there once more. Her jaw dropped a little, seeming as if she wanted to say something, then there was the flicker of a million emotions in her eyes. Four days and Yang was used to it already. This was, after all, the beginning of their dance. Though deep down, Yang knew, that she would have to be the one who starts, but really? Now was not the time. 

That Blake Heartbreak was old news. It should have been cancelled a year ago. This Adam Crap also wasn’t supposed to be  ** her  ** problem. No, Yang Xiao Long was the star of her own catastrophic tragicomedy and it was already beginning to feel like it was dragging on too long. 

She smiled at Velvet, gave a tiny wave and rushed to the backroom to change. 

No one would have to know just how fragile Yang felt because if she was going to start being honest, she would have to say that she didn’t know how much more she could take. Her father  **_ just  _ ** died, for crying out loud, and that loneliness was clawing its way to her heart. And now she had a sixteen-year-old she didn’t know how to talk to and who was probably still mourning their father, probably still mad and sad about her sister leaving her behind and probably going to be heartbroken when she would finally get the damned nerve to tell her that she could leave Yang behind. 

Tears were a liability and she hated everyone else’s pity most of all. 

She breathed deeply until her chest hurt. She tied the apron around her waist, tied her hair back and took one last look at her notification-less Scroll before she tucked all of her belongings into her mini-locker. 

Right now, she had to go to work. She probably couldn’t tune out her problems from screaming at her, but at least she wouldn’t feel bad about ignoring them while she was on the clock.

At least here, she had no  _ real world _ problems. Yang Xiao Long was good at her job. The animals liked her well-enough to let her bathe them or comb their hair or trim it. Ms. Delaney was a kind and caring woman who was somehow a little too nice for Yang’s comfort. Louie wasn’t the best guy in town, but he did cover most of Yang’s shifts when she went away and he only complained about it  **_ once. _ ** **__ **

Then there was Velvet.

The two of them bumped into each other as they made their way to the store front. They exchanged lighthearted chuckles and nervous smiles before they reached Ms. Lulu Delaney’s side. When the customer and her pooch left the store, Yang and Velvet stood as far and as close as they could to each other, both pretending that there wasn’t anything that was bothering them.

Yang both wanted this silent agreement and hated it.

The clock kept ticking by and Yang just kept fighting off her inner turmoil. At the strike of four in the afternoon, Yang had found herself sitting behind the counter, listening to Velvet and Ms. Delaney talk about their problems with the delivery service.

Yang gave Velvet a sideways glance. Velvet knew something she didn’t. Velvet was Blake’s best friend and probably her  **_ only  _ ** confidante  — because Coco Adel didn’t really seem like someone Blake would want to tell her secrets to, right? — so Velvet  **_ must  _ ** know who the hell she was to Blake.

Yang bit her lip as she mentally reminded herself that she was  working , that the only problems that she would have to vocalize were things that concerned anything within  and about  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers, Louie King, Ms. Delaney’s suspicious communication with Mr. Pirelli and grooming dogs.

No Blake. No Adam. No university troubles. No heartaches, no frustrations, no Ruby and no Dr. Draper. And Yang found comfort in that.

She was  immensely  glad that the last few days have been devoid of any Blake-related drama. Well, except for when Adam had mentioned her last night. Other than that, Blake had only existed in Yang’s memories of Saturday night and her nightly vigil for a call that would never arrive; her last message a promise of salvation for the faithful.

And that was a good thing, she surmised.  Yang Xiao Long  had never  been  much for religion and  besides,  it would take a miracle for Bl ake Belladonna to walk through the front door. 

The shop bell rang and all three women looked up to greet their customer: a usual face, dressed in her usual clothing and the unusual quiver of nervousness on her usually-neutral expression. It was four-twelve, and like the routine-obsessed stickler that she was, Blake Belladonna walked through the front door. 

This honestly didn’t count for a miracle. Yang just had the misfortune of forgetting Blake’s particularity with time and the habit of picking Velvet up at this hour. 

“Hey, Blake.” Velvet stammered. Yang turned to see the confused expression on her co-worker's face. 

Ms. Lulu Delaney studied each and every single one of them in silence, a brow cocked and a smirk spreading across her lips. Blake, on the other hand, kept her eyes glued to Yang’s as she approached, determined and afraid. Yang had never seen her look so vulnerable before. 

She had always been the cool girl in Gender Studies. All-black clothing, a pretty face and eyes, cold and calculating, and oddly warm. Blake Belladonna had never seemed friendly or welcoming and Yang was beginning to wonder what the pull even was. What on this cruel universe made her throw her common sense out the window and ask the unsmiling, immaculate girl who barely even noticed her out on a date?

Yang tore her eyes away. She was still reeling from the entire month’s encounter, the exhaustion finally catching up on her. Head down and heart a little bit too afraid to face a girl she had wanted to face for the last couple of days, Yang turned on her heel and murmured an excuse to check the grooming stations. 

“Wait!” 

Barely two steps into the hallway, Yang had felt a hand wrap around her arm and gently tug her backwards. Another hand snaked around her bicep and tugged a little bit harder. 

Everyone was a little too quiet for Yang’s liking and she wondered if they could all hear her beating heart, her shallow breaths and the cacophony of doubt, heartache and cruel hope parading through the back of her skull. 

“Yang...” Blake whispered. 

Yang had never heard her say her name like that before. She was sure that it was Blake who kept her in place, who kept pulling her to look, but which Blake? She was afraid to turn around and face the cold, empty stares the girl used to throw her way in class, the irritated grimace when Yang had asked her out on a date, the disappointment that glimmered in her eyes that night at the Lambda House. 

There was also that microscopic chance that, if she turned around, Yang would see the Blake who had asked her out last week, head low and cheeks flushed. Then there was that other Blake, the one who Yang exchanged text messages with: the understanding one. 

Blake was a stranger and Yang was helplessly infatuated with the idea of her. 

“May I please talk to you?” Blake continued.

Yang held her breath and held her hopes and wishes close to her heart, trying to keep it together in the face of all this heartache and confusion. There was a reason that people constantly repeated that the truth would set them free, but Yang was not the liar in this game. Yet she was constantly afraid of what was waiting for her at the end of all the lies. 

But Blake’s hand was soft and her voice sounded so sincere. It tugged at Yang’s heart and, temporarily, quelled the thundering in her chest, silenced the alarm bells ringing in her head and put out the fire in her proverbial kitchen. 

It was as if Blake’s touch brought some sense into her.  _ Dust,  _ she must have been such a whiny brat to Coco,  Jaune and Sun yesterday, when she had blurted out a fraction of her frustrations with Blake and the fact that she hadn’t called. Not once. 

_ You didn’t call her either! _

Yang furrowed her brows and nibbled at her bottom lip. She could have ended her misery sooner. She could have just psyched herself up, set her pride aside and just called her. What was she even afraid of? She was already caught in this turbulent unrequited love affair. What was another round of beating? Her heart couldn’t possibly break even more, right? 

“Oh, I just remembered!” Ms. Delaney stepped away from the counter and closer to Yang and Blake, “I need to make a call to the suppliers.” 

Yang openly stared at her boss, a mischievous smile spread across her lips and she had a playful gleam in her eyes. Ms. Delaney exchanged a smirk with Velvet, who was caught up in her own confusion to notice the cogs in their boss’ head turning. 

“Didn’t our new stocks arrive just yesterday?” Yang frowned. 

“Yes?” Velvet nervously glanced at every one before silently asking for help from Ms. Delaney, “Umm... they were... crap.” 

“Crap packaging!” Ms. Delaney grabbed Velvet by the arm, “I’ve got to call the delivery service and complain about the bad packaging.” 

“Oh, right.” Velvet raised her hand to her mouth and started gnawing at her fingernails, “So many complaints about their packaging and shipping practice. The bubble wrap barely had any bubbles.” 

Ms. Delaney pressed her free hand to her chest and pulled Velvet close to her, “That is appalling! Does that mean 5% of our orders arrived in poor shape?” 

“Oh no!” Velvet cried, pressing her own free hand against her chest, “I have to go to the stockroom and make sure our numbers are correct.” 

Ms. Delaney and Velvet ignored Yang and Blake as they passed, intentionally pushing Yang out of their way and closer to Blake. They talked about checking the grooming equipment too, and possibly checking the pipes and shower heads. 

“Yang, sweetheart?” Ms. Delaney called out as if nothing had just happened, as if everything she just did was completely normal. 

“Yup?” Yang sighed. 

“Please watch the register.” her boss almost laughed, but managed to keep a serious tone, “Velvet and I will handle our crap packaging delivery crisis.” 

“Yes, Ms. Delaney.” 

Yang watched Velvet and Ms. Delaney make their way to the end of the hall, both leaning close to each other to whisper conspiratorially. “Did they have a fight?” 

“It’s complicated.” Velvet whispered. 

With another sigh, Yang ran her free hand through her hair, trying to flatten out whatever feral lock of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. She took this moment to look down at the arm that Blake had latched on to and tried to figure out if she actually liked it or not. 

A part of Yang wished that someone would walk right through the front door, distract her with work and maybe then, Blake would slip into the background and disappear. But deep in her gut, she prayed for the universe to send everyone else away, to leave this moment for her and Blake. It was all she might get and she had to make the most of it. 

_ Make up your damn mind, woman! _

“You looked stunning.” Blake cleared her throat. 

Yang flinched, turned to look at her, but settled on her hand around her arm, “What?” 

“That night.” Blake sighed, “Saturday night. You looked stunning.” 

They looked at each other for a moment. Yang could see Blake’s nerves falling away and the uncertainty began to creep into the corners of her lips, but Blake held her gaze. Yang couldn’t quite figure out exactly what she was feeling. That small, hopeful part of her wanted to jump for joy, but she remembered last night’s dream, last week’s botched date and last year’s humiliation. 

Yang couldn’t find any words for them both and just resigned herself to be crushed under the weight of unrequited love. She pulled herself out of Blake’s grasp, settled by the register and was grateful she stayed where she stood.

But Blake was nothing if not persistent. “I’m sorry I lied.” 

And honest was a good look on her. 

A year’s worth of fury crept up Yang’s neck as she looked at Blake, a fury that quickly melted in self-pity. Whatever this was between the two of them, Yang would never know unless she asked, unless she could pretend, for one damn minute, that her skin was impervious and her heart was unbreakable. She only needed one moment and she needed to be brave. 

“Why did you lie?” Yang bit her tongue. No one deserved her tears. 

Blake was the first to break eye contact, shying away as she sighed and threw her head back, “It’s not that simple, Yang.” 

“No,” Yang’s voice rose, “simple was you telling me you weren’t interested right off the bat, but you  **_ lied  _ ** to me. You’ve been lying to me since the Lambda party.” 

A million emotions flashed across Blake’s face. There was shock, then anger, then pity, then fear. Her lips twitched and her golden eyes darted left to right, between her own shoes and Yang’s face. Blake clenched her hands and unclenched them, fumbling about and not knowing just what to do with herself. 

This wasn’t the Blake Yang remembered: cool, calm and collected, haunting in every possibly way and so, so beautiful. 

“I...” Blake hesitated, still too unsure to look Yang in the eyes, “I’m sorry I lied. I won’t even deny that, but I did and I did it to protect you.” 

“From what?” 

The silence was suffocating. Ms. Delaney stopped talking in the background and Yang could no longer hear any movement coming from the grooming stations. Sounds of distant cars zooming past made no difference. Yang and Blake were in a world of their own and they were tearing that world apart. 

The truth had never been beautiful, Yang thought bitterly. It had always been a punch to the gut or a kick to the head. She felt the pain cut deep and in full force, but wounds heal when left alone. Lies? Well, they were a thorn in her side, the wound festered and, in the blink of an eye, the infection spread like wildfire and there was nothing anyone could do but feel it. 

Yang pulled herself back. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned on the counter, away from Blake. She hadn’t meant to sound so angry. Yang Xiao Long was an adult. She did not resort to petty shouting and screaming like a greedy child. 

“Adam is not the man you think he is.” Blake whispered. 

Yang turned to hide her face away. She replayed last night in between Blake’s hesitation and fragile courage. How Adam badgered her with questions, how he had been disappointed in her, how he threw the glass over her head. 

_ What was  _ _ Jaune _ _ planning? _

_ What was the ATSP again?  _

_ Keep the girl quiet. _

Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers was silent, if anyone would ask Yang. The sound of Ms. Delaney in her office, speaking in a grave manner with whoever was on the other end of her call, and of Velvet moving some of the grooming equipment around was white noise. The thumping in her chest was the only sound Yang could focus on, to rely on not to let go of her wandering hope. 

Blake slowly crept into view, standing right in front of her with the same amount of determination, and a little less fear, as she looked up at Yang. This Blake felt familiar, Yang thought, familiar and warm and kind and gentle. This was the Blake she had dreamed of, the one she had seen for a fraction of a second in that musty fraternity dorm room, in the darkness, sitting in the cusp of danger. 

This was the Blake she wanted. This was the Blake she loved. 

“Did he hurt you?” she whispered. 

There was pity in Blake’s eyes, much like the thousands that Yang had drowned in for as long as she could remember. Her stare burned right into Yang’s doubts until there was only the softness and warmth of a promise that swirled around in their golden glow. 

What was the pull, back when Yang first laid eyes on Blake? It was simple attraction: a mysterious, pretty girl with eyes that reminded Yang of warm afternoons. It was fickle and shallow and had proved to be more than that with each passing day, with every sound of her voice, every scent she had worn and the possibilities that lay beneath. 

Yang had never felt the pull as strongly as she felt it now and rightly so when the girl of her dreams stood so close to her that she could feel Blake’s breath tickle her nose. She was real. She was  _ really _ **_ real _ ** ! 

If Yang were to reach out and touch her, she would feel Blake, solid and real and right here. She was so close that Yang felt like bursting at the seams, wanting to break, wanting to take and to give in to the things she’d denied herself  — a kiss would be enough  — and Blake didn’t look as if she would object. 

Or so Yang hoped. 

**_ Die, hope, die! _ **

But she could steal a kiss, if she must. Yang was at her wit’s end and she only needed one second, one kiss, one moment to feel as if her life wasn’t falling apart and she wouldn’t know how to put herself back together again. 

_ Keep the girl quiet.  _

Yang saw herself sitting in Adam’s office, a glass of water flying inches over her head and Adam Taurus staring down at her, nostrils flared and fists ready to strike at a moment’s notice — to strike  **_ her.  _ **

She took a step back, pulled herself away from hope’s murderous grasp. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. Adam was clear in her head. His voice, his face, his disappointment, Yang could see it as if it were carved into her the back of her eyelids. 

But Blake lied to her and she admitted it. She lied to Yang to protect her. From what? From Adam? That was a possibility. 

Yang held herself together, pressed her back against the wall and peered at Blake through her lashes. There was a growing fury in her eyes and a threat that spread across her lips. She looked like he had the night before, angry and wanting to hurt someone, to hurt Yang. 

“I’m so sorry, girls.” Ms. Delaney rushed out to the store front. Yang wanted to throw herself into her boss’ embrace, to rid herself of the feelings she couldn’t quite shake off. “Yang, sweetheart, there’s a call for you. It’s from Ruby’s school.” 

_ That’s not right.  _

The parent-teacher meeting wasn’t supposed to be until tomorrow. Yang had checked and double-checked with Ruby. She had already asked Ms. Delaney for a day off tomorrow so she could be there. She had planned out what she was going to wear and what she was going to say to her teachers, the things she would have to explain and the things that she would have to be patient with. 

This wasn’t right. 

She had all but forgotten Blake Belladonna and the awful memory of Adam Taurus. Raven  Branwen flew right out of her mind, the same way she had left when Yang was almost three. And who the hell was Dr. Draper again? 

Ruby’s school had called and Yang felt like  **_ she  _ ** was in trouble. 

Yang wordlessly walked to the direction of Ms. Delaney’s office, thankful that Blake hadn’t tried to stop her, to get her to come back and talk to her. 

“They said they’d been calling your Scroll,” Ms. Delaney panted as she followed Yang, “but you weren’t picking up. They said it was urgent.” 

Yang stopped in the doorway and stared at Ms. Delaney. In the corner of her eye, Yang saw Velvet pop out of the stockroom, her head turning left and right between Blake and her. Yang swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to find reassurance in Ms. Delaney’s eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the girl she had left by the entrance. 

“Sorry.” Yang muttered as she entered Ms. Delaney’s office, “I left my Scroll in my bag.” 

“I’ll watch the register.” Ms. Delaney tucked a stray lock of Yang’s hair behind her ear before she left Yang alone. 

Was this what being between a rock and hard place felt like? The truth she was afraid to know was standing right outside, angry and disappointed and then there was failure, waiting for her at the other end of the line, probably angry and disappointed too. 

With shaky hands, Yang reached for the receiver and still felt awkward with how lightweight it was. She bit her tongue, held her breath and cast her eyes to the sky, praying to whatever higher power was up there to just cut her some slack. 

She tried to convince herself that it was just some sort of reminder or a confirmation if Yang  **_ really was  _ ** going to show up. After all, Ruby had been the one to ask her and received her response. Maybe Ruby had forgotten to tell that school she was coming. 

_ They said it was urgent.  _

Probably because the meeting was tomorrow and they didn’t know if Yang was going to show up or not. Or maybe they had moved the meeting to some other day and were kind enough to let Yang know. 

But she wouldn’t know for sure unless she pressed the receiver to her ear. 

“Hello?” a woman’s voice said a little impatiently, “Ms. Yang Xiao Long?” 

“This...” Yang hesitated, leaning on Ms. Lulu Delaney’s desk to keep herself from toppling over, “This is Yang Xiao Long.”

“Ms. Xiao Long,” the woman continued with a nervous whisper, “this is Ms. Brown from Vale Public High School principal’s office...”

_ Oh, fuck.  _

“Hi.” Yang stammered, “Is this about the parent-teacher meeting? I  ** do  ** remember that it was tomorrow, Thursday? Umm... did—”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Xiao Long.” the woman sounded genuinely apologetic, “Under the circumstances, we’re going to need you to come down here today, as soon as you can.” 

“What?” Yang laughed nervously, “Why? The meeting isn’t until tomorrow.” 

“Ruby got herself into trouble, Ms. Xiao Long.” the woman sighed, but the pity was loud in her voice, “We’re going to need you to come here and pick her up right now.” 

“Okay.” Yang whispered. 

She waited until she heard the sound of a click before she placed the receiver back into its cradle. 

Ruby was in trouble. Yang had to go to her school, talk to the principal and take her home. She had a feeling of what the reason might be. She had been to the principal’s office back in Signal a couple of times before. Yang Xiao Long was no stranger to staying after school for detention or getting picked up long after the entire campus had been dismissed. 

But this was Ruby Rose they were talking about. Shy, crybaby, overly-fond-of-cartoons, most-likely-to-get-diabetes, gently and sweet Ruby  _ goddamn  _ Rose. She never got into trouble. 

Yang almost ran into Ms. Delaney as she exited her office. Without missing a beat, Yang had told her about the school asking her to come pick her sister up. The words kept getting caught in her throat, but she had managed to get her point across clear enough that Ms. Lulu Delaney hadn’t asked any more questions. 

“I’ll be back as soon as it’s over.” Yang announced as she slung her messenger bag over her chest, sticking her hand in to search for her Scroll. She stared at the screen and bit her tongue as she saw the four missed calls from Ruby’s school. 

“Yang, you can go home.” Ms. Delaney assured her, twisting her fingers as she watched Yang flit about. 

She shook her head. She couldn’t take anymore handouts, no more lenience, no more excuses. She was glad that Ms. Delaney understood and would gladly let her off of work, but she needed this job. She couldn’t give her really, really nice boss one reason to let her go. She had taken too much days off already. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing big.” Yang plastered on a smile, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

Ms. Delaney didn’t try and argue this time, Yang made sure to remember that. 

She rushed out to the front, half-sprinting and half-stomping as she made her way to the register where Velvet stood. Blake was on the other side, where non-employees should be in the first place, looking expectantly at Yang. 

“Something came up at Ruby’s school.” Yang turned her head to Velvet, but not quite meeting her eyes. 

“Then go!” Velvet pointed to the door and waved Yang away, “I’ll cover for you until you get back.” 

Her hammering heart kept the words down her throat. Yang simply nodded before she barreled out the door, scampering to her parked car in front of the tattoo parlor. She slid into the front seat, buckling her seatbelt as she looked down at herself. 

She still hadn’t changed out of her work clothes. She even had  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers’ apron on. Her hair must have come undone in her rush and she could feel beads of sweat in the back of her neck. 

She ignored them. 

She rushed to Vale Public High School, going over the speed limit whenever her hatchback would allow and narrowly missing a stop sign. The old girl only died a couple of times when Yang forgot to shift gears or turned a little too abruptly. 

Ruby was in trouble. That wasn’t like her at all. She had always been the responsible kid, the one who got perfect grades, the one who arrived to class on time, the one who never fell asleep while the teacher was talking, the one who just really never got into trouble. 

She was the good daughter, for fuck’s sake! Yang had made sure of it. 

_ But you left.  _

Yang Xiao Long was gone for three whole years, never calling, never writing or asking about them. Just like that. In the blink of an eye, in the spur of the moment and the last legs of her self-control, Yang ran away and stopped making sure that Ruby was  _ Ruby.  _

She left and who else was there to take over  **_ her  _ ** responsibilities than sweet, little Ruby Rose? 

Yang parked her car in front of the school. This looked like a good enough spot, right? They wouldn’t tow her car away. There wasn’t any no-parking sign anywhere. She gripped the steering wheel tight, looking ahead, at her distorted reflection in the rear windshield of the red station wagon parked in front of her. She carefully slipped her apron off and tried to fix her hair as best as she could — which was honestly a futile attempt. 

When she hopped out of her car, Yang breathed deeply. She hadn’t been to a high school in years. She had never been to a high school in the big city. Signal Academy was amazing, yeah, but Vale Public High School looked fancy and a little too blue for her taste. 

She had been here several other times; the first was to get Ruby enrolled and a couple of times when she had dropped Ruby off in front of campus, but the sheer size of VPHS made it look like a damn maze. Yang thanked her lucky stars when a mustachioed teacher passed her by, but soon she was pissed off when he became a little too friendly when he pointed out the principal’s office to her. 

She turned down his offer to take her there himself and marched right up to the hallway where a lone high school girl stood against the wall. She reminded Yang of Nora with her short red hair, but the big pink bow reminded Yang of Ren, and the quiet, dignified way she nibbled on her bottom lip. 

Yang was going to ask her where the principal’s office was, moving closer as quietly as she could when she had spotted the door plaque that read  _ Principal’s Office.  _ The girl jumped at Yang’s sudden proximity. Her eyes looked like  Pyrrha’s , bright green and attentive, but the way the girl flinched and inched a little bit from Yang reminded her of Ruby. 

Yang opened her mouth to speak and the little red-headed girl took another half-step away. The door to the principal’s office suddenly sprang open and a short, gray-haired woman eyed Yang from head to toe and then fixing a softer look at the scared girl across from the door. 

“Your father is on his way, dear.” the woman spoke softly, “I think you should go and wait for him by the entrance so he’d see you immediately.” 

“Thank you.” the girl’s voice was barely a whisper, as if she had spent an hour shouting and screaming until she had lost her voice. She gave a quick bow before she turned on her heel, cast Yang one nervous look as she passed and then jogged out of sight. 

The woman looked at Yang, waited for her to come closer as she held the door slightly ajar. She studied Yang as she entered the office and watched every move she made. The principal’s office was more window and heavily-varnished spruce wood, plastic covers, sea-breeze-scented air fresheners and industrial-level fluorescent lights. 

The principal stood from his seat behind the desk, a slightly portly, yet quite tall man in with cropped brown hair and a receding hairline. He had a prominent chin and another chin. He had kind eyes, maybe. If he didn’t look too angry, then maybe Yang could see that they were kind.

Ruby sat on one of the faux leather seats reserved for guests, her back turned to Yang and her arms folded over her chest. Yang was met with an angry expression on her little sister’s face that slowly melted into a look of despair and regret. 

On the only vacant seat left in the room, a greasy-haired boy sat with a deep frown on his face that made his dimples pop. He turned to glare at the two girls in the room, sinking deep into his seat and pouting so much that his lip looked as if it was going to fall off any moment. 

That was the moment Yang had seen the reason why Ruby was in here, in the principal’s office, in trouble.

She felt  _ mortified  _ and angry the entire time. Was this what  Taiyang had felt when Yang was twelve and she had made a boy cry? It had been a playground accident and she was only  _ twelve.  _ There were tons of things she hadn’t known at that age, one of them being periods and how people would have a different understanding of marriage and re-marriage. 

But Yang stood there, right behind Ruby, hands twisting and pulling on themselves as she listened to the principal. He wasn’t unkind. His voice was soft and reassuring, but there was a certain sparkle in his eyes, not pity, something else and Yang Xiao Long had seen it just as frequently: condescension. 

The principal said that Ruby had cornered the boy and punched him in the face. Yang tried to protest. This wasn’t who her sister was. But the way he looked at her, the mockery that swam underneath the façade of understanding and impartiality, it silenced her enough to hear everything wrong with Ruby Rose. 

She had been too quiet, too withdrawn, too alone. She had trouble acclimating to the school’s environment, isolating herself at every turn that raised concerns from a few of the other students and faculty members. Her constant silence and withdrawn demeanor weren’t natural. 

Yang couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

She clenched her hands into fists, hid them behind Ruby’s head and glared at the principal, “What did  ** he  ** do?”

“I beg your pardon?” he blinked at her. 

“I didn’t do nothing!” the boy complained, pointing a finger to Ruby, “ ** she  ** punched me. She waited for me by the  chem lab and she just punched me.”

“No, my sister wouldn’t hurt anyone just for kicks. What did you do?” Yang ran a hand through her hair, her fingers pulling a clump of it from her ponytail. She turned to the principal, puffed her chest out and squared her jaw. “Have you asked what he could have done wrong?”

“Ms. Xiao Long, we do not tolerate violence in this school.” the principal’s face turned red. 

“But I bet there’s a special place in your heart for injustice.” Yang scoffed, “There is  ** always  ** a reason why some kid hurts someone else and I know my own sister. She wouldn’t hurt  _ this kid  _ unless he hurt her.”

“See, that’s the thing, Ms. Xiao Long,” the principal groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Timothy had never hurt your sister, he barely knows her.” 

“I’ve never even seen her before she decked me in the face!” the boy named Tim exclaimed, his hand coming to his face to cover the black eye Ruby had apparently given him. 

Yang was getting a headache. Ruby would never hurt anyone. She would never raise a hand against a boy she had never met before, a boy she had never seen. There had to be a reason and Yang was willing to be everything she had that it had something to do with that girl outside.  _ Fuck,  _ that could have been this Penny friend Ruby had mentioned earlier. 

She stood beside Ruby’s seat and ducked until she was looking up at her little sister. Yang knew she looked ridiculous, staring up into the hurt in Ruby’s eyes, but she shook the thought out of her head. She had done this before and she would do it again and again. 

She knew her sister and Ruby would never hit some boy because she felt like it. 

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” Yang whispered as Ruby shied away from her, “You mind filling us in with why you punched Little Timmy here?” 

Ruby locked eyes with the principal instead as she caved in on herself, “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I punched Tim in the face. It won’t happen again.”

The principal looked pleased with himself and Tim wore that scowl like a second skin. Yang wasn’t satisfied though. In all her years of sitting where Ruby had sat, — figuratively speaking, of course — she always had a reason. 

She mentally kicked herself. She knew what the principal was thinking because a part of her was thinking of it too. If Ruby was as kind and gentle as Yang claimed her to be, then she must have picked up all that punching-other-people-in-the-face behavior from someone else, from someone tall, blonde and quite charming. 

And their tall, blonde and quite charming father passed away a month ago. 

Then there was that knowledge. There was the  _ grief  _ that Ruby must still be feeling for  Taiyang Xiao Long’s death, the grief that Yang had trouble feeling for herself, if she were to ever feel it at all. Ruby and their father had been close and they’ve had each other to rely on after Yang left. 

So maybe Ruby felt angry about that? 

Yang sighed, gently placing a hand over Ruby’s wrist, “That’s not good enough, little sis. This won’t go away until you tell everyone why you felt you had to punch Tim in the face.” 

Ruby didn’t move. Yang could see her lips twitching, could feel her tense beneath her touch. She could practically hear what Ruby was thinking right now. What good would this do? This wasn’t for the principal and little Black-eyed Tim. They had already passed their judgments and Ruby and Yang were going to have to face the consequences. 

“He might not know who I am.” Ruby muttered as she looked at Yang, angry, defiant and helpless, “but he knows who Penny is.” 

“That redhead kid outside?” 

“He sits next to her in fifth period and he keeps bugging her!” Ruby pointed a finger at Tim as she rounded on Yang. 

“I was just asking her questions!” Tim complained to the principal. 

Ruby turned away from Yang, knelt on her chair and leaned close to Tim, shaking her fists at him, “No talking in class, dumbass!” 

“Language!” the principal croaked. 

“You wrote ‘ _ stupid’  _ on her report card. You spilled soda in her school bag. You threw breadcrumbs at her, ripped her homework in half, licked her hand  **_ twice,  _ ** put rocks in her bag, wiped your booger on her table?” 

“No, I did not!” 

Despite the principal’s warnings and little Timmy’s protests and denials, Ruby kept listing off every little thing that the boy had done to this Penny girl. At first glance, they seemed so little. If Yang had been in Penny’s place, she would have dealt with it herself. But as the list went on and on, Yang realized that these little annoyances were a little too many and Penny may or may not have tried to get him to stop. 

Little Tim’s list of little misdeeds was beginning to drag on and he and the principal were getting redder by each of Ruby’s accusations. Yang knew what was going to happen next. It had happened to her before and she was beginning to fear that it might always happen in the future. 

Finally, the principal had heard enough after a couple more misdemeanors. He stood from his seat and silenced both Ruby and Tim. Yang stood from her crouched position as well, a hand reaching over to squeeze Ruby’s shoulder. 

Ruby had been suspended for a week and Tim was going to have to bring his parents to the principal’s office the following morning. The boy left first with that same hideous scowl from earlier and fear twinkling in his eyes. 

Yang thought that that would have been the end of this nightmare, that she could finally take Ruby out of the school and probably talk to her, but the principal had asked her to sit down and talk more about Ruby’s shyness. 

It shouldn’t have been a big issue. Yang had thought it was just normal that her sister didn’t talk, especially since their father had just died and she was now adjusting to a life with a sister she hadn’t seen in years. But, as the principal so intensely put it, allowing Ruby to isolate herself was giving her the opportunity to express her grief and frustration in a violent manner. 

That definitely ticked Yang off, how he assessed that she wasn’t a pretty good role model for her sister, how she had been neglecting her sister’s feelings and frustrations and her everyday life and the pent-up emotions that fueled her rage. 

But he was right. 

She had been too caught up in her own thousand little problems that she never once asked Ruby how she felt, how she was dealing with everything; because Yang was dealing with  **_ all  _ ** of this with overthinking and wishing for it to just blow over, wishing that she would wake up and everything was okay. 

Everything was not okay. 

They walked out of the principal’s office in silence. Ruby frowned and stomped through the hallways and Yang just tried to remember to put her feet in front of the other. It still didn’t make sense that Ruby  _ punched  _ a boy in the face, even if her intentions were good. 

Ruby marched faster when they had spotted Yang’s car. She stood by the passenger’s side door, glaring at Yang and mentally ordering her sister to move faster. Yang was moving much slower than both of them wanted, having only opened her own door when Ruby was already seated in hers, seatbelt latched on and eyes out the window. 

Yang studied her as she pulled her seatbelt over herself. 

This girl felt like a stranger to her. She wasn’t the same little girl who had cried and begged for her not to go three years ago. She wasn’t the same little girl who wouldn’t stop wailing on the day of her mother’s funeral. She wasn’t the same little girl who she had to wake up in the morning, the same little girl she had to tutor at night and the same little girl she had to drop off at school before rushing to hers. 

Ruby Rose was not a little girl anymore and Yang should have realized it sooner. 

She sighed as she put the key into the ignition, flinching when Ruby turned to her and said through gritted teeth, “Don’t even say anything.”

Yang looked at her for a moment —  **_ really  _ ** looked at her. Her cheeks weren’t as chubby as before and her eyes weren’t as bright and hopeful as they had been when Ruby was eight. This kid next to her, she wasn’t a little girl anymore and she probably hadn’t been one since the day her  _ partner-in-crime  _ ran away. 

“I wasn’t going to.” Yang whispered. 

The trip out of Vale Public High School was quiet and suffocating like the last few days. And like the last few days, Ruby refused to look Yang in the eye and Yang was too much of a coward to say anything. She felt guilty and ashamed of herself. Back then, she  _ knew  _ just how to make Ruby feel better and now, she didn’t even know how to less horrible with herself. 

“You mind hanging out at my workplace for a little while?” Yang said softly at a red light, never taking her eyes off the road, “I think  Pyrrha won’t be home until seven and I really don’t  wanna leave you alone again.” 

“I can take care of myself.” Ruby responded several seconds later, “I’m not a child, Yang.” 

“I know.” Yang sighed, “I’d feel better if you were with me though.” 

“Do I even have a choice?” 

Yang bit her lip and cursed the red light, “We’ve got cats and dogs at  Noola’s . It’ll be more fun than watching TV or sneaking around Mr.  Dormitorio .” 

“Whatever.” she mumbled. 

That felt like a yes, Yang thought as she watched the green light flash. The hatchback’s acceleration was crap, but at least there were no other cars to notice it. 

It was increasingly becoming unbearable in the silence between them. Her mind was still trying to process everything that had been happening in the last couple of weeks and her heart weighed heavily with the guilt that wouldn’t stop haunting her. 

Now really seemed like a pretty good time to bring up Dr. Elizabeth Draper. Yang needed to get it off her chest, to get it off her mind. The secrets and the worries were becoming too much, just like Black-Eyed Tim; so little, so unimpressive, but crashing down on her like a tidal wave against the shore. 

“What did you  wanna do for your birthday?” Yang nervously chuckled instead, “Two more weeks. Are you excited?” 

“I bet  ** you  ** are.” Ruby grumbled. 

Yang kept quiet for the remainder of the ride to  Noola’s . 

Ms. Lulu Delaney was surprised to see that Yang had returned, but she welcomed Yang back nonetheless. Velvet was standing beside their boss, chewing on her lip and leaning on the counter. Yang would never admit it out loud, but she had expected to see Blake waiting for her. They barely talked about  **_ anything  _ ** at all, she just confirmed that she had indeed lied to Yang and that Adam Taurus, despite his charm and kind looks and unnecessary touchiness, was capable of hurting someone. 

The two women smiled at the sisters as they approached; Velvet giving her little wave and Ms. Delaney looking expectantly at Yang, her arms poised and ready to envelope her in an embrace Yang had forgotten. 

“I guess I wouldn’t have to miss work tomorrow.” Yang smiled as if everything was going swimmingly well, standing a little out of Ms. Delaney’s reach. 

But nothing could really stop the force of Ms. Delaney’s comfort hugs, not even Yang. The moment her boss had wrapped her arms around her, she stopped herself from melting too much into it. Ms. Delaney might look strong, but Yang was a little taller, bulkier and heavier. And this was her boss. 

“It’s quite alright, Yang.” Ms. Delaney whispered into her arm, “You’ve kept to your schedule. It’s okay to take tomorrow off.” 

“It’s fine, Ms. Delaney.” Yang sighed as she tried to pat her boss’s elbow, “I hope you don’t mind my sister hanging out for a while. I  kinda promised she’d see dogs.” 

“Mr. Pirelli’s going to be dropping Shelby off this afternoon.” Ms. Delaney said matter-of-factly, extricating herself from Yang and hiding her embarrassed face. 

Yang felt that she could tease the woman, point out that she and Mr. Pirelli were getting really friendly with each other and offer to take ten minutes longer than usual with Shelby for her. But they were only thoughts and plans and Yang couldn’t find the strength to smile. 

Ms. Delaney had more questions though and Yang felt it would be better if they talked about Ruby’s little trip to the principal’s office out of her sister’s earshot. Velvet had agreed to stay a little bit longer to man the store front and keep an eye on said little sister. 

Yang was beginning to feel like dead weight. It wasn’t fair for Velvet to stay longer than she already had. She should have gone with Blake over an hour ago. And Ms. Delaney shouldn’t have to keep putting up with her constant absences. She needed reliable employees, ones who actually worked their shifts. 

But she kept her thoughts to herself as Ms. Delaney tried to comfort her after she had rephrased the entire encounter — minus Ruby calling her schoolmate a dumbass. Yang told her all about the school’s  _ fear  _ of Ruby’s quietness, her shyness and her ability to adapt to environment. Ms. Delaney called bullshit, had even said that the school was stupid and tried to talk Yang to take tomorrow off like originally planned. 

Yang wouldn’t budge though and she had won the argument that she gets to work tomorrow, but only if she wouldn’t have to show up on Saturday. 

That seemed like a pretty good idea anyway. Ruby was suspended, after all, and this afternoon had only proved that there was still a lot of things she and Ruby needed to talk about. Important things. Difficult things. 

Dr. Draper and if Ruby even wanted to stay with Yang at all. 

She had to face the facts. She wasn’t cut out for taking care of a teenager after all. She had been responsible for Ruby until she ran away, but her sister had only been twelve or thirteen then. If Yang could feel that her entire world was shaking in the last three weeks, just how much turmoil had Ruby gone through in the three years that they hadn’t seen each other? 

Ruby wasn’t a child anymore and Yang had to understand that. She had brave and strong all on her own. She was old enough to not need Yang. She was old enough to make her own decisions. 

Last Saturday was a train wreck and Yang thought that she would have to make a tradition of that. She would tell Ruby then, about everything, about Dr. Elizabeth Draper, about getting to choose her or Yang, about Raven’s demands and about Yang’s plans. 

When Ms. Delaney had to take a call, Yang had excused herself to send Velvet home for the day. She dragged her feet as quietly as she could, head down and her imagination running wild. 

What was Ruby going to say after their talk? Would she call Yang selfish? 

Was she even doing the right thing anymore? 

“... love to have another dog.” Ruby’s voice was soft. 

Yang stopped in her tracks, halfway between Ms. Delaney’s office and the store front. Velvet, angelic as ever, probably couldn’t herself from conversing with Ruby. She must have figured that it was a  shitstorm of a day for everyone and it wasn’t as if Yang seemed like she wanted to talk to Velvet anyway. 

“We used to have a dog.” Ruby continued with a little hint of glee in her voice, “He died after mom did.” 

Yang remembered him.  Zwei . He had been Summer Rose’s best friend and Ruby’s and Yang’s four-legged protector. But the sisters had never mentioned him after his passing and they never found it in their hearts and busy schedule to get another dog. 

Stranger still, Ruby had never mentioned Summer Rose since the funeral. She felt heat pool in her chest and a sadness she had forgotten was resting in her, in both of them. 

“I’m sorry.” Velvet whispered in response, “That must have been...” 

_ Horrible?  _

_ Heartbreaking? _

Yang couldn’t find the right word to describe it herself and she had stood witness to it all those years ago. 

Ruby just chuckled, “It was sad, yeah, but I had Yang.” 

Yang felt another tug at her heart. She felt as if her heart was burning her chest ready to melt through her lungs, her insides and straight to the ground. She should have been happy with the way Ruby talked about her, but that was the thing: Ruby never talked about anything from their past. This was the first time Yang was hearing all of this and remembering how she ran out on her little sister. 

“She was the one who dug our dog’s grave in our backyard.” Ruby sighed, “I wanted to help, but I couldn’t stop crying. You know, I never really saw her cry. Have you?”

“Yang?” 

“I’m sure of it. I never saw her cry. Not once.” 

“No.” Velvet said softly. 

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat and snuck back to the far end of the hall. She deliberately silenced her steps as she neared the Ms. Delaney’s office. She stomped her feet as she returned to the store front, alerting Ruby and Velvet of her presence.

As she had expected, Ruby and Velvet straightened themselves. Velvet smiled as she stood next to her and Ruby turned away, hiding her flushed cheeks. 

“You better head home, Velvet.” Yang flashed her a small smile, “Thanks for everything.” 

Velvet stood staring at Yang, hesitation clear in her big, brown eyes. There was a shred of pity there and a question that seemed ready to come tumbling out at any moment. And Yang recognized the beginning of their little dance.

Yang turned away to put off whatever ounce of courage Velvet  could muster. There was the promise of an explanation in the way she reached out and squeezed Yang’s hand, and there was the understanding that today had been a long day and Velvet was willing to listen if Yang wanted to finally start talking. 

Without any further ado and a tired sigh, Velvet clocked out of work and left the two sisters to pretend that everything was okay. Mr. Pirelli walked into  Noola’s about twenty minutes after Velvet left and Yang felt that she was able to handle giving the chill Lhasa  Apso a bath and a trim. Ruby, on the other hand, was more than happy to spectate. 

Yang felt a slight swell of pride as she went about her work, her little sister silently observing her. She might not be raking in the big dough, but she was earning enough to sustain herself. Now that she knew that Ruby wouldn’t have to go through the entire paycheck-to-paycheck ordeal and sometimes go on a day or two without eating. 

This was her job and Yang was sure as hell great at it. She was the best and maybe Ruby couldn’t see it without any other comparisons, but at least her little sister could see just how hard her work can be. 

As Yang was drying off Shelby who had been shivering in her arms, wet fur dripping onto the tiles of the grooming station, her Scroll echoed through the soft whimpers of the dog and the roar of the blow drier. 

Yang motioned for Ruby to answer the call for her, to fish out her Scroll from her pocket and tell her who was calling. Ren and Nora might ask her to spend time with them this weekend and maybe it was  Pyrrha , telling her she was going to the grocery store and if Yang wanted anything. 

But Yang’s heart raced the moment Ruby looked down at the display screen – a bad feeling that turned into reasonable concern. 

Adam Taurus was calling, the man who had never once asked for her number and the man who had been pulling Yang into the internal issues of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda Fraternity, the man who  **_ lied  _ ** to her too and quite possibly, someone who had no problems about hurting other people. 

Coco had said as much and Blake had asked her if Adam had hurt her. So there was that possibility. There was that likelihood. And it had always been there, long before she found herself sitting in his  _ office,  _ cowering in shock as a glass of water flew over her head. 

Ruby was about to answer it, to press the device into her ear, but Yang, despite the suds in her hands and the water dribbling from her fingertips, snatched her Scroll away from Ruby and answered it herself. 

Shelby stood on her hind legs and pawed at Yang’s chest while Ruby frantically searched for a towel nearby and swiping the drier from its tray. 

Just like last time, Adam had asked her to come to the Lambda House to meet with him .Yes, it was about  Jaune and Yang could feel that it was also about Blake. 

She knew that Adam would turn Yang against her, would tell her all about their relationship, how he loved her and how the only thing that stood in their way was the approval of his father. 

First of all, Adam didn’t even like his father very much. Why was his opinion of Blake still important? Blake herself looked as if she barely talked with him, but Saturday night, the way she turned away after she and Adam ha – 

No. Yang felt sick to her stomach, her thoughts twisting, turning and screaming in her skull, retired to the restaurant to try and convince their parents to let them all leave. She never heard nor saw how Adam and Blake talked. 

Now, there was that last time they had spoken with each other and how Blake, Coco,  Jaune ** and  ** Sun talked as if Adam was capable of murder, even. 

Four against one and the fence-sitter named Yang Xiao Long. 

She really ought to  ** un ** -involve herself in this situation 

She had other concerns, pressing ones, things that she should focus on. Her entire life – and Ruby’s – counted on it. She really shouldn’t concern herself with someone else’s problems even if it had involved her without her knowledge. 

She had to find a way to remove herself from the mess everyone else kept dragging her into. She couldn’t take any more. Right now, all she had to do was figure out how she and Ruby could stay afloat, how she would have to convince Ruby, Dr. Draper and the rest of the world that she was capable of taking care of Ruby and how she would have to reassess her  ** entire  ** life and make some necessary adjustments. 

For the greater good. 

In rush that barely allowed for a moment for Adam to interrupt, she told him she would meet him after she stopped by her apartment and not a moment too soon. She would have to drop Ruby off, ask  Pyrrha to check in on her and make sure her little sister had something to eat while she went to the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House. 

She had to end all communication with Adam tonight. Whatever issue Adam had with Blake was theirs and shouldn’t have to involve her. Yang and Blake? That was a problem for the two girls and one that Blake seemed to promise to discuss in due time. 

This was going to be easy. This was going to be okay. Yang was going to make sure of it. 

_ Whatever helps you sleep at night.  _

Adam was not too happy with her demands, but none of them really had a choice, did they? When everything was said and done, when Ruby was safely in their apartment, flipping through channels and probably mulling over today’s events, Yang drove up to Beacon, to the Lambda House with  ** all  ** of the courage she could find. 

She stood unfazed at the front door as Cardin Winchester himself frowned that she had knocked. The burly and brusque guy led her to Adam’s office after openly grumbling about her presence and threatening to continue where the two of them had left off all those nights ago. 

The atmosphere at the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House was the same as it had been before: incredibly masculine, anxious and heated. Adam Taurus, mouth In a deep frown and fingers fidgeting at Yang’s approach, barely greeted her. He simply waved for her to sit, his cold eyes beckoning for her to give him good news that she was not here to bring. 

“Have you spoken with  Jaune ?” he said as Yang invited herself to sit on the chair across from him. 

_ It’s only been  _ **_ one  _ ** _ day.  _

“No.” Yang sighed, feeling the panic and fear rising in her chest, “I don’t think he’ll ever want to talk to me again, after what happened last time.”

Adam visibly tensed, “And what happened last time?” 

Yang  relunctantly recounted what she had told Adam and his father the day before about speaking with  Jaune and trying to convince him to stop fighting with Adam and to hold a formal meeting with the chancellor of the fraternity. 

That wasn’t good enough for Adam, but at least he hadn’t offered her anything to drink and he seemed content with boring holes into her face as he frowned at her. 

“Listen, Adam,” Yang tried to calm her heart, hammering away in her ribcage, “I can only do so much. This fighting within the fraternity has nothing to do with me, to be honest." 

Adam leaned over his desk and peered over at her. He looked like a predator, getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting prey. But Yang had always been plagued by rumors of her short temper, her hot-headedness and her  _ “preferred language of pain”. _ Though they may have been exaggerations, but they weren’t far from the truth. 

Yang Xiao Long knew how to defend herself and she could hold her own in a beat down. If it ever came to it, she was more than willing to throw a few punches just to claw her way out of the Lambda House. 

Still, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. 

The longer she sat in front of Adam Taurus, the more she was beginning to see just how foolish she had been to believe  ** him.  ** She had known about him since the Lambda party, had heard rumors about him in passing and listened to countless bits of information about him from people she spoke with on a semi-regular basis. 

But his kindness had blinded her and his understanding and connection with her made her feel as if they were two peas in a pod. They were alike in their problems and quite possibly in the way they wavered beneath the weight of it all, but Yang bit her tongue and pressed her hands to her thighs while he covered his frustrations with insincere compliments, a silver tongue and open fists. 

There was no emotion on his face. He kept his eyes glued on Yang, probably hoping that his silence alone would break her. There was no pity there, nor anger nor a looming threat that made Yang sit at the edge of her seat. 

He leaned even closer and so softly, so menacingly, “What do you know?”

Yang  held her breath , but kept her eyes ahead, straight into Adam’s. The lines on his face were deeper and the circles under his bloodshot eyes were dark and looked swollen. 

“I told you all I know.” Yang said through gritted teeth, “ Jaune and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms. Not since the party here a few weeks ago.”

Adam sighed and sat himself down on the chair. He kept his eyes closed as he leaned back on his seat, stretching his legs out beneath him and pressing his fingers to his forehead. His hair looked dry and matted, his shirt was wrinkled and Yang wouldn’t openly say that she could smell that he hadn’t taken a shower in a couple of days. 

“I think you know more, Yang.” His voice was low and threatening. 

“ How many times do I  gotta tell you ? ” Yang pushed herself off her seat. Screw the consequences. Screw the fear that twisted in her gut. No more. She was not going to let  ** anyone  ** bully her , especially not  **_ this  _ ** entitled prick who barely cared about the hell that went on in her life outside of his office. 

_ Screw Raven for screwing his dad.  _

“This in-house fighting of yours is of no concern to me.” Yang continued as she felt her nails dig into the palms of her hands, “I’m not a member of your goddamn fraternity.  Jaune , the guy leading this smear campaign against you? He and I aren’t even close friends. Forget about Sun. They’re  ** you’re  ** fraternity brothers.”

“And Blake?” 

“Blake is nothing to me.” Yang’s voice cracked, “You and everyone else can keep all your secrets, your lies, your fucking schemes. I’ve got my own shit to deal with. Just… stop dragging me into this.” 

She felt the weight of the world on her shoulders once more, so suddenly that it felt as if somebody had kicked her in the ribs. 

How had she gotten herself into this? How did she find herself standing in front of a man she barely knew, explaining to him the comings and goings of the people who cared so little about her?

The sadness and anxiety was burning in her chest, bile rising to her throat and the tears rushing to her head. It was too strong and Yang didn’t want to take anymore. She didn’t trust her weak knees and shaking hands. She couldn’t take anymore. 

But she wouldn’t break. Not here. Not with him. No one deserved her tears. 

She just had to stand strong just a little bit longer. 

“She came to you this afternoon.” Adam said softly with a vile smirk on his face. 

Yang’s eyes were wide as she swiftly turned to face him. How could he have known about this afternoon? Blake waiting for Velvet at  Noola’s where Yang also worked was a common thing, but it wasn’t exactly common knowledge. 

Rumors spread far and wide like wildfire and Yang felt like the favorite butt of a joke. She always had been the moment she dared ask Blake to  _ gret _ _ dinner  _ with her. 

“Since you hate secrets so much, Yang,” Adam chuckled, “I think you’d appreciate it if I tell you a little bit of truth. I have eyes and ears all over this town and every secret, every lie, every damn thing, it all comes back to me.” 

Yang felt her skin crawl and her throat dry.

“What did you and Blake talk about this afternoon?” Adam straightened in his seat, ready to stand up, to circle his desk and lay a hand on her. 

But she had nothing to be afraid of. She had no reason to lie. 

“We didn’t get to talk.” Yang bit her lip. 

That wasn’t a lie. 

“She was there for a few minutes.” Yang continued. Was there even any point in lying to him? What else did he already know? “She said she wanted to talk, but then I had to leave. When I came back, she was gone.”

“That’s a good girl.” Adam cooed as he stood, “That’s what I like about you, Yang. You’re not difficult. In fact, you’re quite predictable – not that that’s a bad thing. It’s actually quite refreshing. It makes  **_ fixing  _ ** all of this easier.” 

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, one challenging the other. There was a certain hint of pleasure in Adam’s eyes, complacency. Yang regarded him, looked at his posture, his stance, his hands, waiting for a sign of a struggle to break out. 

But there was none. That did little to calm her nerves. 

“Please sit, Yang.” Adam gestured to the chair behind her, “We have a lot to discuss.”

Against her better judgment and the alarm bells ringing in her head, Yang sat herself down. She had to remind herself that Adam didn’t look as if he could hurt her, that she had faced bigger men, angrier and a hundred times more intimidating than him. Though that was during sparring sessions in the Sun Dragon Dojo about eight years ago, but she had been the best. She could even still remember a few sets and moves. 

Yang Xiao Long could take him. She just wasn’t quite sure about the several other boys outside of this room. 

Adam’s expression quickly morphed into exhaustion that held a certain softness to it that looked a little like understanding and sincerity. But Yang wasn’t as stupid as he had thought, but she still felt a little dumb for trusting him, for buying into his pretenses and fake-concern. 

“No more secrets and lies between us then, Yang?” Adam extended his hand, waiting for Yang to give him hers, “From this point on, we tell each other the truth, no matter how difficult or horrific or painful it might be.”

Yang simply looked at his outstretched hand. 

The truth seemed like a rarity these days and the only people who were aware of her truth were the people who knew so little about the hell that crawled in her veins, between the stress of university and work and the grief that was beginning to catch up with her and her growing desperation to keep her sister with her. Apart from them, there were strangers that she didn’t know if she could trust and now here was Adam Taurus, the man  ** everyone  ** said not to trust, was offering her the one thing she wanted. 

Adam must have recognized the doubt swirling in her eyes and he must lost patience. He pressed his hand against his chest and moved away from his desk. Yang feared that he might come closer towards her, to touch her, to hurt her. But he turned his back and approached the bureau near the display cases, opened the top drawer where whatever documents lay beneath the busted camera. He took a single leaf of paper out, waved it around as he returned to sit. 

There was no fanfare in the way he practically threw the piece of paper before Yang. No doubt he wanted her to look at it, to read the words for herself, but she resisted. She kept her eyes glued on his, refusing to look at whatever it was he wanted her to see. 

“I’ll start then , with something that is of interest to you. ” Adam cleared his throat, “ I lied about Blake and me. One of the things we have in common is the way we want her. I understand that about you. She’s a very pretty girl, smart, a little mean, from a respectable family in the South. She’s a little out of your league, but we always want what we can’t have. And yet that’s another similarity between us.”

Similarity. Yang couldn’t find one. Sure, she liked Blake and he must like her too, but that seemed just about it. She shuddered at the memory of Saturday night, how she had been so stupid to think that she and Adam were kindred spirits. But perhaps he was right. She  crumbled under the weight of her mother’s insistence and desires for her and he was under his own father’s mercy. 

Arthur Taurus must have been aware of the things Adam was up to. ‘Keep the girl quiet’ was an obvious indication of his involvement. It could mean a lot of things, it could be something so simple or something intricately despicable. Yang simply didn’t give a shit anymore. She wanted out of this and Adam was making it difficult for her. 

“She’s up to something.” Adam grimaced, “ I know that. I don’t know how she pulled it off, but she has gotten a hold of private documents and in no time, she’ll find something incriminating.”

“And what would she find?” Yang prodded despite the confusion she waded through. 

He cocked an eyebrow and laughed, “Something incriminating and  **_ that  _ ** doesn’t involve you. I think we can set that aside. What you should be focusing on is stopping her from finding this something incriminating. That would be beneficial for all of us. I promise you that the Chi Rho Delta Lambda Fraternity will leave you alone, ignore you from now on and I’ll make sure Cardin doesn’t go anywhere near you.” 

That was a strange offer, Yang thought. Sure, the fraternity boys had been an annoyance and got her into all sorts of trouble. Maybe the thought of Sun  Wukong made her skin crawl, but the Lambda boys weren’t the best bargaining chips, futile it may be anyway. But then there was the promise that Cardin wouldn’t come near her. She shook her head. She took him on last time. She would have successfully pummeled him to the floor if Adam hadn’t broken up the fight. 

Yang didn’t need Adam. He could keep his propositions to himself. 

“I don’t care how you do it.” Adam added grimly, “I just want you to make all your little friends stop digging into my business. John would be the only one who gets kicked out of the fraternity, but I can assure you that nothing bad is going to happen to him. Sun  Wukong and Neptune can keep their scholarships and housing perks.  They just need to stop rallying everyone else and pretending like some fucking heroes. And Blake has to drop this sneaking about and stealing information.” 

“And why would I do that?” Yang squared her jaw, her eyes burning with fury as she looked right at him, “They may be lying assholes, but I’m sure  Jaune , Sun and Neptune and Blake can handle themselves with or without my interfering. Like I said, Adam, your problems have nothing to do with me. I want out. I can try to talk to them again, but I think I’ve pissed them off last time.” 

Adam held her gaze for a moment. He straightened himself, fixed the lapels of his sports jacket and smoothed down his hair to what semblance of order it can attain. He looked at the piece of paper on the table and gently slid it closer to Yang. 

“This part of the situation does involve you, Yang.” 

He gently tapped the piece of paper before him and Yang had no choice but to look. It had been an open invitation, but now, as he directed her attention to it, she followed. The words barely made sense. Numbers, addresses, names, letters, figures, characters, blank spaces, underlines, commas and periods.  She would have just brushed it off had she not seen a name she hadn’t expected to find at all. 

The two of them were silent for what felt like hours. Adam had no problem with letting her stew in his office and he quite enjoy the view of Yang’s self-destruction play out before him. 

“Whatever it takes, Yang.” His voice was like a sudden crash in her skull, “Might I suggest you talk to Blake first? I was told she didn’t seem quite upset with you before she left that pet shop you work in.”

Yang could feel her insides melting from her stomach to the floor, her heart giving in and her head pounding. She was dizzy. There was a terrible twisting in her gut, a hunger so fierce that it had left her throat dry and aching. There was a minute shred of humiliation that coiled around her neck that had only gotten worse the longer Adam looked at her. 

It was a mercy that he had excused himself for a little while, a menacing smirk on his face as he informed Yang to help herself with the water behind his desk. Her memory flashed into the way he chucked a glass over her head. She felt minimal relief when he had left the room. Was this what the end of Remnant would feel like? Painstakingly slow and all she could do was watch it all slip away? 

When the door clicked shut and Yang felt that she was truly alone, she practically flew towards the decanter behind his desk and poured herself a glass of water, one after another after another after another until she had emptied the entire thing. Her throat was still dry and she felt like drowning. 

_ This can’t be true.  _

But it was, she thought bitterly. The truth was never a beautiful thing and no wonder every goddamn person in her life lied like there was no tomorrow. Still, she held on to the hope that Adam was lying about this too. 

She flung herself to the bureau he had pulled the piece of paper out of. There were more documents there, more pieces of paper and all of the other junk that might hold a little bit more. He could have just doctored the damned document, it was easy to fucking print out. One clicks, two clicks, three, then print! You have a fancy lie written under a fancy corporate header. 

She rifled through the documents, one after another. All of them different words, different numbers and letters and symbols. That document was a fake and Adam was the biggest liar of them all. It just can’t be true.  Adam could just walk in and see her going through his things and Yang wouldn’t bat an eye as he drags her out of the room. This really can’t be fucking true. 

Blake wouldn’t do that to her. 

She must know. 

Fuck. 

_ Was that why she wanted to talk to Yang?  _

It wasn’t to apologize or to explain or to suddenly confess her undying love for Yang dumbass Xiao Long. Screw her dreams, screw every goddamn thing in this world. 

_ How could she do this to me?  _

Yang absentmindedly took the camera in her hands and ran her fingers through the scrapes and dents over the cheap plastic and the little bits of cold metal. She flipped  open the viewfinder and fiddled around for the switch, but whatever button she pushed, the old camera remained unresponsive. 

It was stupid for her to think that this old thing would still even have any power left, but she found comfort in having something to touch, to expend all of her nervous energy on. With every push of a button, Yang was glad that she wouldn’t have to cry. She wouldn’t cry. Some of the buttons were broken and stuck and her thumbs were beginning to ache, but she wouldn’t stop. 

Blake would never do this to her. Nor would  Jaune and Sun and Neptune. 

She had options. She had plans, but – they would never do this to her. 

Yang heard the sound of a soft click and a piece of plastic protruded from the side. She looked down at it, into the  slots of  more  plastic and metal. It was a little less rusty  inside, probably being the only thing that had been protected from the outside world in the time that it had spent inside Adam Taurus’ bureau .

She was going out of her mind. How can her fascination of an old thing mix with the dread she felt? She couldn’t explain it, but here was Yang Xiao Long, about to break and fall apart, holding a forgotten thing in her hand. She flipped it over and over, pressed the buttons until her skin was about to break open from the motions. 

It must have slipped from her hands, but – odd,  she could still feel the plastic and the metal against her fingers . But she had heard a small click and Yang forced herself to look. 


	21. A Will and a Cause

Today felt like classic opening lines she had read in several books.  _ The sky was overcast but it didn't rain.  _

A car horn blared and Blake jolted awake. She was in her car, once pristine and now littered with clothes, textbooks and what was supposed to be just an overnight bag, instead it had been the only pieces of her home that she felt to bring with her. 

The car behind her passed by her with another round of angry honking and if Blake dared to look into the window, she might see a person flipping her off for passing out on the wheel. 

She should have stayed with Velvet last night, but it felt unfair to her friend who had never once complained about her. True, Blake was a pretty decent housemate who could pick up after herself and maybe spare a bit of time to clean up someone else's mess, but that wasn't  ** her  ** home. That was Velvet's and it was there that she housed her own little secrets. 

Blake knew, of course. She'd always known. It felt rude that she had just invited herself to their "friendly Saturday" out, but she got stood up and then she found that her supposed date was having dinner with her tormentor. The worst part of it all was how sickeningly sweet he seemed to Yang. 

Blake wanted to vomit. Maybe from the thought of Adam and Yang or maybe from consuming only three cups of coffee and half an oatmeal cookie in the last sixteen hours. 

She was on her way to Coco’s place anyway. Velvet had called her about an hour ago, wondering where she might have spent the night. She sounded both worried and excited then, but her tone completely changed when Blake didn’t supply an address of where she was. 

She couldn't lie to Velvet. Not anymore. No more lies. Secrets were different, but she felt that her friends deserved to know that she had slept in her own car last night, in front of a modest eatery. Her stomach grumbled from the thought of food. She really should have had breakfast at the eatery. It was right there. It was the least she could do for occupying a parking slot overnight. 

But that was the thing with Blake; when she barely had a wink of sleep, she couldn’t force herself to eat anything or at least drink some water. She could stomach coffee, but she knew the limit before she would feel like vomiting it all out. 

She had been busy the last couple of days all because of Saturday night, how she felt like a damn idiot, rushing to see Yang and then seeing Adam’s hands all over her. And in that dress? His stupid, ugly face was so close to hers and... 

Blake forced her eyes shut. 

Things with Yang had never once been simple. Sure, it was in the first couple of weeks that they sat in class together when they were two girls sitting in class, but the damned woman made it hard for Blake not to notice her, not to like her, not to want to sit and bask in the warmth of her lopsided smile. 

Everything led back to her. Everything led back to Yang. Adam knew it and he was using her against Blake. 

She had to figure out a way to get Yang away from him, but damned her bad timing and her cowardice. She should have called the morning after that dreadful Saturday night. She shouldn’t have let that lying piece of shit scare her, but she knew what he was capable of and Yang was within his reach. 

She would have to try and talk to Yang again later. She would have gone straight to Beacon and asked around campus for any sign of the pretty blonde with the beat-up car, but Coco had called last night and asked to meet with her this morning. It was important, she said, and it was a lead that could help them build a case against Adam Taurus. 

Right now, getting his slimy face away from  **_ all of them  _ ** was a much more practical choice. 

Yang could wait a little bit longer. She hoped. This was for her too. 

Blake tucked her hunger, irritation and physical discomfort away. She started up her car and made the trip to Coco Adel’s flat on the other side of where she was. It was a fifteen-minute drive from Beacon, but right now, Blake was at the beginning of a twenty-five-minute trip and that didn’t account for traffic. 

If all of their friends said that Blake had a ritzy apartment, Coco’s was by far the most ostentatious and twice as big. Yet she lived alone and rarely had any friends over, until today, when top-of-the-line security was needed to keep creepy stalkers and dumb frat boys out of earshot. 

Despite having been to Coco’s place a couple of times in the last two years that they’ve known each other, the security gave Blake a hard time. License and registration, logging into the guest list, confirming her presence with Coco and then letting the security cameras catch her unobstructed face before letting her through to the elevator. 

Back then, she thought that Coco’s flat building was downright paranoid, but now, she found comfort in them and she wondered just what would drive Coco to live in such conditions. There weren’t even doorknobs here, just a black, plastic box that housed the sensor to scan Coco’s keycard. 

She didn’t even have to raise her hand to knock when Coco Adel herself opened the door wide enough for her to come in. They nodded to each other as a greeting and Blake walked right in, surprised to see Velvet already seated in the wide living room. 

The décor was a nice mixture of heavy antiques and state-of-the art minimalist furniture, much like Coco. The kitchen looked so brand new, but it was probably because Coco barely used it, opting to eat out or mooch off of either Velvet or Fox. Blake did notice that the microwave looked grimy and the sink had dirty dishes in it. 

There was an electric fireplace right in the center of the entire room that was currently turned off. Coco would have to start using the damn thing with winter fast approaching. Not to mention the big storm heading into town this week. 

Blake wondered if Coco ever used the flat screen TV in the living room, settled quite artfully on the wall opposite the couch Velvet sat on. The coffee table looked like a clean-cut black gem, but that must have been the lacquer. Or Coco was simply that rich. 

“Welcome to the party.” Coco laughed as she led Blake inside and gestured for her to take a seat next to Velvet, “We’re just getting started. Want anything?” 

“Hi, Velvet.” Blake smiled as she settled into the oversized, pure white couch. It felt plush and comfortable, but almost untouched. She turned her attention back to Velvet and shook her head. “I’m fine. Shall we start?” 

“Don’t listen to her.” Velvet stood from her seat and practically jumped to Coco’s side, “She probably hasn’t eaten anything since last night. You still have some of that meatloaf, right?” 

Coco scratched her forehead and pointed Velvet to the direction of the fridge. As Velvet set about to preparing some meatloaf that Blake would have to force herself to eat, Coco excused herself to her  _ “office”  _ and left Blake to squirm about on the couch. 

“I’ve got good news and bad news!” Coco shouted from the other room. 

Blake groaned, threw her head back and felt her exhaustion pulling her into the unknown world that lay beneath Coco’s couch. She heard Velvet pull out a plate and open and close the fridge door. She heard Coco padding back out into the living room, the sound of papers rustling as she approached. 

“Want good news or bad news first?” Coco asked as she dropped the stack of paper on the table in front of Blake. 

It took a great deal of effort to even just glance at the pieces of paper, a printed list underneath some sort of fancy business header like the ones from her father’s office. Only this time, it didn’t hold the family business’ logo. Just a name, an address and contact details. 

Blake sighed as she fixed Coco an incredulous look, “Are you seriously asking that silly question?” 

“Yes, duh?” Coco threw herself next to Blake. 

“Bad news first.” Blake sighed, “Or a sandwich would be nice.”

“Sandwich?” Velvet squeaked from the kitchen. 

“I mean, good news, bad news and then good news.” Blake immediately supplied. 

“Good news number one.” Coco stretched herself out, pulling her legs up and resting them over Blake’s lap, “My cousin’s been helping me out with digging some dirt on the Taurus family. He’s got friends of friends of friends who run in the same circle as Adam’s grandfather, Arthur Taurus Sr.” 

“And how is that going to help us?” Velvet chimed in. 

Velvet came into view, carrying a plate of meatloaf and a fork. She set it down in front of Blake and pointed at it, like a dog, for Blake to eat. 

Coco ignored the two of them and continued, “He’s as close as we can get to an inside man, seeing as how your  _ boyfriend –” _

“I’m sorry I lied!” Blake whined. 

“—and his little friends are persona non grata in the fraternity.” Coco said with too much delight, “I’m surprised they haven’t even been kicked out yet, but I guess that wouldn’t do any good and the Lambda House has already let go a couple of members last week. Four, if we include the ones who were kicked out from the beginning of the semester. That would raise alarms.” 

Velvet sat herself down on the vacant seat separate from Blake and Coco, still gesturing to the forgotten meatloaf on the coffee table, “I can’t believe the university is turning a blind eye on this.” 

Coco straightened herself, leaned across Blake and handed over the plate to her, despite her silent protests. It was as if Blake wasn’t even here and like she was the center of their attention. 

“The school board knows what’s up.” Coco sighed, “But the last suspensions were within reason, according to some boring crap my cousin told me. Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah, justified actions as a result of financial bullshit.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Blake stabbed the meatloaf with her fork and stared down at the goop of meat in front of her. 

“Basically, it’s either the school let students go or risk losing donations from the Taurus family.”

“That’s really gross.” Velvet whispered. 

“This looks wonderful, Velvet.” Blake raised a forkful of meatloaf to Velvet and shoved it into her mouth without missing a beat. It was a little too salty for her taste.

“I didn’t mean the meatloaf.” Velvet laughed, “But thanks.”

“However,” Coco raised a hand so that the girls would look to her as she explained further, “there have been many complaints against the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity, destruction of school property, misappropriation of funds, inappropriate attires, illegal parking – whatever. My cousin said we just need to build a strong enough case to get the school board to investigate the Lambda fraternity, particularly Adam Taurus.” 

“ **_ Investigate  _ ** him?” Blake swallowed the third clump of meatloaf down, “Seriously? That’s all? Coco, we need to get him  ** kicked out ** , not just investigated. We need to get him thrown in jail.”

Coco frowned, “Ah, but the Taurus family is all about honor and shit. Some unflattering scandal and there is no doubt that Arthur Taurus Sr. is going to have to pull his grandson out of university and send him out of the country to hide.” 

Blake set the plate away a little too forcefully than she had intended. Coco was practically offering her a way to let Adam escape with all of his misdeeds. Sure, she wanted to be rid of him, to get him out of Beacon, but she wanted him to pay for his crimes, not hide. 

Adam was a sneaky, conniving son of a bitch. When the smoke clears, he was bound to return and Blake was tired of living like a common animal being hunted down, seeing shadows in corners and shutting herself out of every good thing that had smiled her way. 

That wasn’t a future she wanted for herself. She wanted to be free. She wanted to throw Adam behind bars for everything. For her. For Cinder. For the other fraternity brothers. For Yang. 

“That’s not good enough.” Blake’s voice was soft, but the fear kept hammering in her chest. 

“It’s a start, Blake.” Coco’s voice was equally soft. 

Coco sat herself down and stared straight ahead. Blake kept her eyes glued to the meatloaf that she really should be eating. 

“On to the bad news.” Coco cleared her throat, “When we find a way to either get Adam kicked out or locked up, the Taurus family is going to withdraw all financial support and donations to the school. The Arthur Taurus Scholarship Program that secures about twelve of the remaining Lambda frat boy scholars will be revoked. They will have to find other ways to support themselves, but we’re well into the semester and they might not find other scholarships.” 

That wasn’t a good sign. Despite the horrific things that Adam Taurus was doing, tormenting and beating girls up, his family was doing a lot of good for twelve of the Lambda boys. 

Blake leaned forward and snatched a piece of paper from the stack.  _ Taurus-Watts LLC.  _ _ Grantees for _ _ the Arthur Taurus Scholarship Program AY 201 _ _ 7 _ _ -201 _ _ 8 _ _ , Chi Rho Delta Lambda Fraternity Initiates.  _ It had been a list of the twelve boys that Coco had mentioned earlier, the ones who were most likely going to get kicked off of the fraternity in the blink of an eye. 

Sure enough, she had seen Sun Wukong somewhere in the middle. Sun had always struggled financially since he was a kid. That was the only life he had known until he was about twelve or thirteen, back when he found out that kids like him could get university scholarships. Now here he was and Blake was grateful for it. 

He was mildly surprised to see Neptune Vasilias’ name beneath the words  _ Special Scholarship Grant _ _ Set-A _ _ ,  _ along with Cardin Winchester and a boy Blake wasn’t quite familiar with. 

“That’s a list of this year’s ATSP grantees.” Coco waved her hand at the paper Blake was reading, “Your boyfriend’s there and so is Yang’s.” 

Blake glared at Coco, but the other girl paid no mind to her. 

“You can bet your pretty little ass that they’re the next to get crossed off the list.” Coco continued without so much as looking embarrassed or ashamed of what she had just said, “But I’m going to predict that the boyfriends are getting cut first.” 

“Miles Luna on a stick, Coco, I swe—”

Coco cut her off with a chuckle and a wave of her hand. 

“Drop it.” Blake threatened, “I get it, okay? I messed up and it’s not just one small joke, one small lie that everybody’s hellbent on not letting me forget. I get that you’re mad. I get that Yang probably hates me right now. I get that I’ve disappointed everyone, but can you at least give me one chance to make things right?”

At least Coco had the good sense to look contrite. Velvet kept her eyes to the floor as Blake scanned their faces. Everything was different now, for Blake. She had always stood at the fringes of their attention, sitting quietly during their Thursday get-together at Barthel Hill, providing plain and simple responses whenever they would prod her for them. Now, she was front and center and vulnerable and so ready to fight for a little bit of the things she denied herself. 

Things would have been different had she just said yes then. Sure, maybe Yang Xiao Long wasn’t her type, but she had seemed sweet enough and now a year later with that same smile and glimmer in her eyes… 

She could have been happier, Blake thought as she grabbed the meatloaf from the table and placed it on her lap. Had she said yes when Yang had asked her to get dinner that morning, maybe the blonde’s courage would have rubbed off on her then. Whatever they would be now – and damn this  _ what-ifs  _ that really should just  **_ be  _ ** – Blake would have been better than she was . 

“It’s  hard enough already .” Blake too k  an absentminded bite of the meatloaf. 

_ Gret dinner _ flowers and a booklet about gardening , they had been such simple things, such unusual gifts, but they were so inherently Yang. 

“I’m sure Yang doesn’t hate you, Blake.” Velvet whispered. 

Blake’s eyes felt so heavy. There was a crick in her neck and her back was aching all the time. Her entire body felt dead as she tried to shoot Velvet a hopeful look. Instead, she nodded and frowned at the meatloaf and Coco murmured her apologies. 

“So Sun and Neptune are going to get kicked out next?” Blake cleared her throat as she gently slid the plate back on the coffee table, “What makes you say that?” 

“Good news number two!” Coco turned scooted closer to Blake and placed a hand on her knee, “You guys ever heard of this guy named Jaune?” 

How could she ever forget who Jaune was? He had been the blonde boy with Yang when they went to the Lambda party, the same boy who recently joined the fraternity and he seemed quite unbearable the last time Blake had seen him. 

“Sun’s friend.” Blake nodded, “He joined the fraternity shortly after the Lambda party.” 

“Yeah. He was really chummy with Sun and the other boys before Yatsu and I tucked tail and left.” Coco reached for another piece of paper from the table and handed it to Blake, “We met Tuesday. He’s a bit of a freak, a little too excited and reckless, but the boy’s got charisma. He’s convinced seven of the twelve people on that list to join him and report Adam to the school board.” 

“But didn’t you just say that the school board already knows and can't do anything about all this?” Velvet asked. 

“Yeah, but one or two complaints isn’t good, but a flock of innocent students who are getting the boot for someone else’s mistakes?” Coco smirked, “That’s hard to ignore. Also, Jaune’s family is old and influential. They say no press is bad press, but if you’re name is built on charity work, there is such a thing as bad press.” 

“So, what’s it gonna take for the school board to listen?” Blake pinched the bridge of her nose, “All twelve of them to testify against Adam? I’m sensing another bad news here.” 

Coco laughed nervously and got up to her feet, “You caught me there. There’s no proof.”

“Just like Cinder.” Blake threw her head back once more and stared at the ceiling. 

She tried to think of the novels she had read in her early teens. She loved those mystery novels and right now she felt like one of the heroines, trapped in a predicament that she can’t seem to get out of. But those women had always found an out. 

But always right before danger would strike. 

Blake got to her feet and stretched her arms over her head until she felt a sharp pain shoot through her back. She was beginning to act like the women in those novels: paranoid, sleepless, restless, recklessly courageous and ignoring the hunger that vibrated in her stomach. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to sleep or eat or sit still. 

She circled around the coffee table, moved past the electric fireplace and the television set and stared out the window. The city was beginning to seem a little bit drearier than before. The storm was coming close, maybe tonight or tomorrow? She would have to check a little bit later. 

Just like the storm in the horizon, heading towards her, she could feel something else coming , bubbling in her chest – ominous and growing louder and louder and wilder and deafening. 

Danger. 

“What kind of proof is Jaune looking for anyway?” Blake sighed as she gently placed a hand over the window, “Sun and I haven’t spoken since last week.” 

“Adam stole money.” Coco said in between the sounds of rustling paper, “A truck load of money that the fraternity promised to donate to the school. Some sort of book drive a couple months ago?” 

“Did it just – poof! – disappear one day?” Velvet contributed. 

“The frat treasurer checked out the final pool before handing it over to the school administration.” Coco continued, “The report they submitted had already noted a few missing lien that must have been used for water and food, but gradually, there were deductions and two weeks later – poof! All gone.” 

“That’s stupid.” Blake scoffed, turning to face Coco who promptly handed her a bunch of stapled paper. She stared down at the report and almost choked on her own spit when she had seen the money that the Lambda brothers had raised, “Two weeks and they stole this  **_ much? _ ** ”

“The charity event wasn’t just to raise some money for the repair and maintenance of the HT Library,” Coco added as she produced another bunch of stapled paper, a ledger of some sort, “It was also to raise funds for the repair of the Lambda House, add parking spaces and upgrade their heater. So, yeah, I guess that’s why they managed to rake in a ridiculous sum of moolah.” 

“And what is Jaune saying about this? He wasn’t even in the fraternity when that happened?” 

“Jaune’s not the one saying it.” Coco said softly, “Sun is. Jaune’s the face of their little scheme, but Sun’s the one who wants to throw Adam out of the picture and have Jaune replace him.” 

“Like a puppet?” Velvet quirked her brow. 

“Sun said he believes in Jaune.” 

Blake listened as Coco recounted her meeting with Jaune and Sun on Tuesday, how she had gotten a call from her cousin who told her about his  _ friends  _ told him that Arthur Taurus Jr. had gone to Beacon to try to suppress the Lambda fraternity riots. He had heard that a certain  _ new recruit  _ had been causing trouble and since the fraternity was bordering on miscreants and delinquents, only one person had joined this academic year. 

Sun said that almost all of the Lambda brothers believed that Adam knew what happened to the money they had raised for the book drive. A lot of suspicious things have cropped up in the Lambda House like that porch lounge Blake had jumped off from, the near-endless supply of alcohol for their weekly ragers , new fridge, renovated office room and bathrooms. 

Maybe that had been enough to explain the missing fortune that should have been donated to the Hannah Turing Library, but alcohol was cheap and if Blake remembered it correctly from her personal experience, renovations were costly, but still not  ** that  ** expensive. 

And maybe that was why Jaune and his good intentions lacked concrete evidence. It was speculation and rumor. The Taurus family was one of the most powerful families in Vale, second in all of Remnant. The book drive money was chump change with the billions his family owned. 

If the Lambda boys  **_ were  _ ** able to have their complaints hold up against the school board, then Beacon would have no choice but to hand the case over to the police. Would this be called grand theft? Misappropriation of funds? The list could go on and Adam Taurus, cocky son of a hotshot lawyer, would have to face trial. 

Blake chewed on her lip as she tried not to let her mounting disappointment show. The case was weak, a nuisance and a couple of days’ of front page headlines at best, but Adam Taurus  ** was  ** the son of a successful lawyer who could talk his son out of anything. 

He had already done it before. 

_ Cinder.  _

But she wanted nothing to do with Blake. She had given up, had turned her back and ran to the edges of town, to hide in a rundown apartment and was too scared to even open her front door. The violence and hotheadedness was there, yes, but so was the crippling fear and restlessness. 

Blake couldn’t help but imagine herself in Cinder’s position, cast out of society and living in constant fear of a single man. 

No. 

Never again. 

She will be happy, she thought. She will have control over her life, over her actions and all of her relationships. She wouldn’t be scared. She would face the danger head-on, a challenge on her lips and fury in her eyes. 

Blake forced herself to think. They needed proof. Sun and Jaune needed proof, but where in all that is good and merciful were they going to get proof that Adam Taurus was a thief? How was  **_ she  _ ** going to prove that Adam was a violent, abusive man who wouldn’t flinch in the face of murder? 

She kept repeating the night of her kidnapping and beating over and over in her head, how she had cowered in the trunk of the car, how she had tried to crawl away from  t he bruised and bloodied woman that lay next to her , how her mind had wandered to Yang, sprawled beside her, dying and slipping away. 

Cinder might have been a crazy bitch, but she had the good sense to record herself torturing Blake and humiliating Adam. But the camera had been destroyed and Cinder said she never kept any copies. 

Foolish. Stupid. Dumb. Fucking dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. 

But Cinder could have lied about that. She might have saved copies of her own. She didn’t seem like the type who wouldn’t find a way to keep herself safe. Then Blake reminded herself that she had let Adam chase her out of Vale, remembering the dilapidated building she called home. 

She could still be lying. 

Besides, Coco and the boys had no other leads. 

Coco and her cousin – who will not be named for his safety – might have been a big help, but as long as they came up with nothing, Blake and Jaune were sitting ducks, singing of freedom from oppression and promising a life full of possibilities that seemed oceans away. 

Blake had to be sure, to cross that possibility off the list once and for all and maybe the drive could help her think of something actually useful for their little cause. 

“I need to go pay Cinder another visit.” Blake took the half-eaten meatloaf from the coffee table and took it to Coco’s kitchen sink, “She might know something.” 

“Who the hell is Cinder?” Coco’s eyes darted between Blake and Velvet – who quickly shook her head – then stammered as she rushed to steal the plate off of Blake’s hands, “You’re not going anywhere near Lady Kidnapper McNutso.” 

“Last time we went there, we got nothing.” Velvet reminded her. 

“You went to her place before?” Coco looked pissed. 

Velvet was quick to try to calm her down with her own summary of what had happened during their visit to Cinder’s house. It did little to ease Coco’s irritation, but Blake recognized the realization that bloomed in the way she furrowed her brows. 

The plan was simple, like it had been before: drive over to Cinder’s home, convince her to tell them what she knew about Adam and his family, convince her to try and build a case against him for herself and get him out of Vale for good. 

The girl was deranged and unstable, prone to violent outbursts and paranoia – she was bound to have  **_ more  _ ** hidden evidence to strengthen their case. After all, she had known Adam the longest and much more intimately  than Blake would have  liked to admit. 

“I ’m with you, Blake.” Velvet gently placed her hand on Blake’s arm. 

“Didn’t you have that test in an hour?” Coco quirked an eyebrow. 

Blake shook her head and smiled at Velvet to mask the guilt she felt in her chest. This was why she kept quiet in the first place. Now that her friends know the horrors that plague her when she would close her eyes, they were all willing to put their lives on hold to fish her out of the blistering depths. But it was their life that had kept her going on in the first place. 

But she was thankful for Velvet’s willingness, but Blake had no intention of taking so much more than she deserved, “You should go to class. Then get to work.” 

“Yeah.” Coco agreed. 

“But I want to help.” Velvet squeezed Blake’s shoulder, searched her eyes and pouted. 

It was hard not to be devoted to this woman. 

“How about I sleep over at your place tonight?” Blake sighed, “My back is killing me.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Coco clapped a hand over Blake’s shoulder that Velvet hadn’t occupied, “Blake and I are going to this Cinder’s house and we gonna do what Blake wants to do.” 

It took a little bit of convincing, but Velvet finally relented, much thanks to Coco. Blake had offered to drop Velvet off at Beacon, since she was going to have to stop by the university today. She had forgotten Cinder’s exact address. Sure, she knew where to turn and that the door was not indeed the blue she once thought it would be, but… where was it again? 

The drive to Beacon was quiet, but Blake knew that there were questions that hung in the air between each of them. She, too, had questions, but the one that irked her the most was the one crawling beneath her skin: Yang Xiao Long. 

Velvet would know. She and Yang worked together. They spent about four hours together every other day or something. 

But Blake had noticed the awkwardness at Noola’s yesterday, when she had walked through the doors determined to speak to Yang. The two girls stood at a little distance when once before they could stand hip to hip and neither would bat an eye. 

Yang was mad and rightly so. Blake  ** had  ** lied and then she lied some more and how did she even come up with the idea that she should ask Yang Xiao Long out on a date after everything? 

No explanation. Just that pathetic excuse of gratitude for tolerating her cowardice and helping her jump off a balcony. 

Blake bit her tongue and gripped her steering wheel tighter as she stopped her car. She nodded as Velvet bid her and Coco goodbye, hopping onto the pavement before she rushed to take her exam. Blake’s throat was beginning to feel dry and there was that tightening in her chest again. How much more damage was she going to cause her friends? 

Velvet had a good and peaceful life before she had spilled her heart out, no doubt. She was friends with everyone and her only problems then were how to stop herself from wandering down her street at dinner time. Not if Blake had eaten, or had been visited by her stalker, or was sleeping in her car again, or was the reason why a workmate was being cold towards her. 

“Let’s go?” Coco cut through the doubts that coiled around her throat. 

“Hold on.” Blake took out her Scroll, “I need to make a call.” 

“I’m sorry, Blake.” Coco whispered, sliding down her seat as she stared out the window, “I’m sorry about being a bitch all the time.” 

The line kept ringing in Blake’s ear, “I’m a worse bitch than you. Sometimes I don’t get why you’re all risking your necks for me. I haven’t done much for anybody.” 

“Yet.” Coco exclaimed. 

“Hey, Blake!” Sun’s voice was loud and clear against her ear, “What’s up?”

Blake turned herself away from Coco and locked her eyes onto a tree in the distance, “Hi, Sun. Can you give me Cinder’s address again? I forgot. I need to talk to her about something.” 

There was a pause. 

“Sun?” Blake swallowed the lump in her throat, “Cinder’s address?” 

There was another pause, a beat too long and wide enough for Blake to wonder where Sun was, if he was safe, if Adam was listening in on their calls. But there was the familiar croak of his voice that was tinged with fear and caution. 

“Why do you wanna go to Cinder’s place again?” 

It was Blake’s turn to keep quiet. Deep in her heart, she knew that paying Cinder another visit was futile that she would say the same things and discourage Blake from going down this path, but there was that what-if that was screaming in her head and the perfectionist in her to just double-check and really confirm that Cinder was a lost cause. 

She tried to articulate her fears, tried to find the right words to convince him that she needed to close this chapter of the book for herself. Sun had tried to dissuade her, but in the end, he had relented, had given her Cinder’s address and the same reminder that her door was blue and there were flowers on her mailbox. 

“Where are you?” Sun demanded before Blake could thank him. 

She stammered, “Beacon.” 

“Where? I’m coming with you.” 

“That’s not—”

“Nep, come on.” Sun’s voice was muffled. Blake frowned at the mention of Neptune. 

“Sun.” Blake shot a sideways glance at Coco who just shrugged as she waited, “You don’t have to come with me.” 

There was movement from the other line, a door opening and closing, people chattering and voices rising. Blake had no idea where the two boys were They wouldn’t be at the Lambda House, not after what the two of them have been doing. 

But there was the familiar sound of a ruckus and Blake could feel the tendrils of danger lapping at her skin once more. 

“A promise is a promise, Blake.” Sun said between pants, “I got you and the way this is all going, it’d be better if we all work together.” 

She wanted to argue. She wanted the few other people she cared about as far away from her problems as they possibly could. 

But she had been helpless alone. She lay in the center of Barthel Hill, crying and begging for mercy and Sun had been the one who saved her last year. 

Maybe he could save her again. 

Ten minutes after she had ended the call, Blake saw Sun and Neptune jogging towards her car. There was that easy smile on Sun’s lips, despite the dark circles under his eyes and the way his unkempt hair bounced about. His shirt was wrinkled and he wore mismatched socks. 

He seemed quite happy to see Blake, bending over the driver’s window, waiting for Blake to roll it down and invite him inside. 

She sighed as the two boys climbed into the backseat. Was it really such a good idea to bring them along with her? She only just wanted to talk to Cinder, not scare her into submission. There was a reason why Sun knew Cinder’s address and surely, the sight of him would terrify her into calling the police. 

And Blake didn’t want that for what she was planning to do. 

The drive to  Third Street, Kensington and Lander was relatively dysfunctional and brimming with trepidation. Sun and Coco seem to be getting along swimmingly, recalling their little meet-up a couple days ago and running through the same old facts over and over and over: Adam stole money from the book drive, some of the higher ranking members of the fraternity would know, Sun and Neptune were in danger of losing their scholarships. 

Neptune, on the other hand, looked quite calm. Blake couldn’t help but watch him in her rearview mirror. He seemed well-put-together, clean, charming, funny – and Blake might accept that he was all those things if he would only stop looking at her like she was a parasite. 

She sighed. Everything  ** did  ** lead back to Yang. 

Blake had heard about Neptune from Sun, who never seemed to shut up about almost everything in his life. S he remembered how S un had told her how Neptune was quite taken with Yang, how the two of them went out on a date and how Neptune had acted like a nervous puppy the days prior to their date. 

Neptune had been whipped, as Sun had so aptly put it, and Blake had seduced Yang away with her mysterious ways and charm, and wit and passion for the game of playing hard-to-get. 

Neptune seemed content in the backseat, pressed against the door and staring down at his Scroll like a lovesick teenager. Blake had caught a small smile on his face every now and again, in between the bored looks and the frown on his face. The only thing constant in the way he hunched away from Sun was his pained expression.

“So, what  **_ is  _ ** the plan, Blake?” Sun leaned forward and tapped Blake’s shoulder, “Knock on her door, ask her some questions and pray she answers?” 

“We need to strike a deal with her.” Coco hummed in thought, “Quid pro quo. But what does she want?” 

“To be left alone?” Neptune said dryly, eyes still on his Scroll. 

Blake really had no reason to be  **_ so pissed  _ ** at him, but she was. She gripped the steering wheel tighter than ever, glared at his forehead through her rearview mirror and said through gritted teeth, “She’ll never be alone while Adam’s still breathing down her neck.” 

Neptune must have felt her gaze, but when he looked at the mirror to meet her eyes, he had his own icy glare,  unwavering , proud and _ really,  _ **_ really  _ ** annoying, “Adam’s throwing a hissy fit at the House at every single fraternity member who hasn’t decided to fight against him. Believe me, no one’s watching Cinder. Not in the last week since Jaune started this campaign.” 

She kept looking at him through her rearview mirror. 

Neptune looked different. No, Neptune looked like he always did. His blue hair was combed and his shirt was pressed and tucked perfectly into his trousers. There were lines across his face, yes, but he didn’t seem as distraught as Sun was – and it was obvious he tried to keep himself together. 

“Are they all holed up in the House?” Coco scoffed, “I have a class or two with a few Lambda boys and they hadn’t shown up.” 

Blake tore her eyes away from Neptune and focused on the road instead. They were drawing close the outskirts of Vale. Although finding Cinder’s home didn’t need her full attention, it was best to just focus on that instead of Neptune. 

“A couple of the boys were told to leave.” Sun said softly, “ Last I heard, someone had voluntarily left the fraternity because he couldn’t take the stress of wondering if he was going to get cut next. I’m surprised why Neptune and I are even still technically in the fraternity.” 

“I guess I was wrong.” Coco murmured as she shifted in her seat. 

That was odd. 

Blake wouldn’t admit it, but she did think that Sun, Neptune and Jaune were obviously the next perfect candidates to get kicked out of the Lambda fraternity. But maybe they  **_ had  _ ** been kicked out and they hadn’t found out yet.

She felt the nauseating sense of danger once more, but Blake bit her tongue and drove in silence. Apparently, they had all shared the same anxiety. Coco said nothing as she scanned the passing trees and streetlights. Sun was surprisingly quiet as he fiddled with the buttons of his shirt and frequently glanced over at Neptune, who was happily typing away at his Scroll.  **__ **

The silence continued until they had reached Kensington and Lander. Blake didn’t need Sun to tell her where Cinder’s home was, but she let him point her to the right place anyway. She parked her car a couple of houses down, facing the blue door that was not at all blue. She cut the engine and leaned forward, peering through the windshield and Cinder’s door. 

“Is this a stakeout?” Sun whispered. 

“Don’t tell me we’ll just sit here, Blake.” Coco groaned, “I thought you said you wanted to talk to her.” 

Blake bided her time. 

It was hard to tell if anyone was currently at home. The clouds may be gray, but it wasn’t dark enough to need to turn on the lights inside. The curtains were drawn anyway, but Blake knew that Cinder would know if she were to walk up the steps and knock on her door. 

Just like last time. 

And just like last time, Cinder was going to demand that Blake either throw herself into the trash or leave before she would call the cops. 

What could she possibly say to Cinder anyway? 

_ Hi. We’re trying to get your boyfriend jailed. Wanna help?  _

She  ** might ** , but she had been the same person who burned into her head that Blake was sleeping with her boyfriend. Instead of marching right up to the police with her camera, she kept it as a bargaining chip and let Adam destroy it. 

“Blake?” 

Maybe Coco was right. They needed to trade something that Cinder might want, but what if what Cinder wanted, they couldn’t provide? What if she wanted to get back together with Adam? How in the hell were they going to pull that one off? 

But they even really need her though? 

She had just been Adam’s girlfriend – she sure acted like it – so she might not know a lot about what went on in the Lambda fraternity and Adam had only been voted as the fraternity president a couple months ago. Last year, he was probably just vice president or whatever other positions fraternities had. 

_ But Adam’s family had always been contributors.  _

“Blake?!”

What did she need Cinder for? 

She would never tell Adam’s secrets. She would never admit to coming close to dying by Adam’s hand. She would never testify against him. Blake’s scars and bruises had long since faded. So did Cinder’s. But there had to be paper trail. Adam must have sent her a message, demanding her to leave town or face the consequences. 

Right? 

“Blake Belladonna!” Neptune practically shouted. 

Blake snapped out of her thoughts and watched as the color returned to her knuckles. 

_ What  _ **_ was  _ ** _ the plan?  _

“Are you gonna talk to her or what?” Coco muttered nervously. 

“Do you want us to stand as bodyguards?” Sun sat straighter, puffing out his chest as he winked at Blake. 

“I need you to break into her house.” 

Everyone; Coco, Sun and Neptune looked at her like she had grown two heads. She understood what they were thinking, could feel the doubt swirling in their heads. Blake looked over to Cinder’s house, watched for any signs of movement inside. 

“You gotta be shitting me.” Coco inched closer to Blake, jostling the car a little, “You said we were here to  ** talk  ** to her, not get ourselves thrown in jail.” 

“I don’t think I’d willingly go with you on this one, Blake.” Sun murmured. 

Blake held her breath, felt the air expand her lungs as she turned to them with fury and desperation in her eyes, “She’s not going to give up whatever information she was willingly either. Adam’s not fighting fair and we shouldn’t either.” 

“This is starting to feel like it’s not about Adam anymore.” Neptune grumbled. 

“No, it isn’t.” Blake snapped at him. 

She unbuckled her seatbelt a little too forcefully, knocking her elbow onto the steering wheel. Thankfully, she had missed the car horn, but the pain spread through her forearm like venom. She gripped the headrest of her seat and glared at Neptune’s slightly nervous form. 

“It’s more than just  about  him.” She continued, “This is about me and how I want to be able to walk around Beacon without feeling like I could get assaulted at any moment. This is about me not wanting to sleep with one eye constantly open – because that’s not sleeping. This is about me not wondering whether I do want her or if I’m just settling  for her. This is about me making my own choices and my own mistakes. And it doesn’t hurt that solving my problems helps solving yours too.” 

Blake bit her tongue. She shouldn’t have said too much. 

She must seem like a madwoman, gasping for air and taking out all of her frustrations on a guy as insufferable as Neptune. But he did mean well, she thought bitterly as she loosened her grip on the headrest. 

Coco looked uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat, eyes darting between the car’s console and the street outside. Sun looked just as uncomfortable and he had no problems about painting it on his face. Blake couldn’t look Neptune in the eye. 

She heard him sigh and with a shaky voice, he said: “We can’t break into her house, Blake. We’re all fighting for justice here and you’re asking us to break the law.” 

Blake sighed. She turned back to look through her windshield and sank in her seat. Neptune was right and Blake knew it. She would never admit it out loud, but he was right. She might not have been a firm believer of karma, but what did all of her lies bring her anyway? 

“I don’t suppose you have any other bright ideas.” Blake grumbled. 

Third street looked quite peaceful despite the state of disarray and rundown houses. She felt acid in her stomach, rising to her throat. She hadn’t expected to be back so soon and to  _ need  _ something from Cinder. 

Everyone just grumbled and murmured their responses; Blake continued, “From what I know of what’s going on, Sun’s plan is to get the other Lambda boys to support your claim that Adam had been funneling money from the fraternity since he was voted chancellor. Here’s a thought... why would a guy rich as him and the son of the biggest financial backers of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity need to take his own money?” 

“His father cut him off?” Coco guessed.

“He’s trying to piss his family off?” Neptune added. 

Blake gripped her steering wheel, “Unsubstantiated claims. Shoddy and can be easily swept under the rug.” 

“Then what’s the right answer?” Neptune groaned. 

“I don’t know.” Blake shook her head, “Cinder might.” 

“That’s also  unsubstandard claim. You have no proof that she knows  _ anything.” _

Blake looked at Neptune through her rearview mirror. He never did like her very much, always with the stink eye. She had tried to let it slip, but he was really worse than  insufferable . She had yet to figure out a word for it. Right now,  _ sniveling  _ would have to do. 

Blake smirked and looked back at Cinder’s front door, “But we’re already here.”

“Listen, Blake,” Coco cleared her throat, wrapping a hand over Blake’s wrist, "I can get my cousin to dig into this. Just give it a little bit more time. But that’s a good idea and I wish you would have told me about Cinder sooner.” 

Blake freed herself from Coco’s grasp and slipped out of her car, “So far, all the information your cousin gave you was something that we could all have told each other. Right now, Cinder and her delusions about Adam is the only concrete lead we have. And she’s a two-minute walk from here.” 

Blake stood waiting for them, watching as they shifted their gazes and avoided hers. She sighed and steeled her resolve, closing her car door as gently as she could. She scanned for any signs of dents or scratches over the car’s surface one last time – a habit that she really ought to break. 

She turned on her heel and headed straight for Cinder’s front door. 

“Wait!” 

She turned around to see Sun climb out of her car window, tripping as he landed on the pavement. He jogged towards her, messy hair, wrinkled shirt and that nervous grin. 

“I’m pretty good at using windows.” he exclaimed, stopping an arm’s length away from her. 

Blake blinked at him, “That’s not how it works... But I saw that.” 

Sun scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I’ve been here before – Sky dragged me here with him and Dove – I know there’s a low window with a broken latch.” 

“You think it’s still broken?” Blake quirked an eyebrow. 

There was movement in her car. She turned around and saw Coco and Neptune arguing as they ducked out of their seats. Coco marched right up to them, grumbling and murmuring under her breath while Neptune glanced at his Scroll one last time before he slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. 

“No way I’m letting you walk up to her door alone.” Coco folded her arms over her chest and glared at Blake, “ Lady Kidnapper  McNutso , remember? ” 

“I guess all I can do now is make sure none of us actually get caught.” Neptune frowned as he stood next to Sun, “I’ll be your lookout.” 

“Hey, pretty boy,” Coco struck Neptune’s shoulder with the back of her hand, “since you’ve got your eyes glued to your Scroll, why don’t you shoot a text if Sun’s in the house?”

“Umm... what?” 

“Code.” Coco stretched her hand out and gestured for Neptune to hand over his Scroll, “I’ve got personalized notification alerts. The first text means that blondie here is inside, the second one means he’s out. Call me and we all run back to the car.” 

“Coco, why don’t you stay and be the getaway driver instead?” Blake stammered, reaching a hand out to Coco as she tapped her number onto Neptune’s device. 

Coco suddenly flinched, eyes widening a little before she turned to Blake with an eyebrow raised behind her designer sunglasses, “I can’t drive.” 

“Can’t either.” Sun raised a hand. 

“I have a license.” Neptune cleared his throat, “But I’ve never driven anything.”

Blake sighed for the nth time that day. This was a bad idea, but it was the only one they had. 

Sun and Neptune left first, walking over to where this  _ broken window  _ was. It was upsetting that Sun even knew about, but what made it worse was how he actually had come to know Cinder’s address. Blake should have expected it. Sun was a member of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity and he knew things long before she did. 

Was it guilt that propelled him to such lengths? 

A minute passed and Blake and Coco finally made their way to Cinder’s front steps. Blake did feel a little better having  **_ someone  _ ** at her side. This might be the closest to  _ fearless  _ she could get: head held high and the distress swirling around the meatloaf she tried to finish this morning. 

Blake wondered if it was even possible for the paint to get even more crusted with mud and dirt. The grass grew wild in odd places and there were more weeds than the last time she had been here. The door was still aquamarine and it was much brighter than the last time. 

She raised a hand to knock. 

Everyone was waiting for her to do it. Sun and Neptune were probably hunched beneath the window with the broken latch and Coco was waiting for a text from Neptune  signaling that the first part of their futile crime was a success. 

But the danger she had felt found its way to her side, gripping her wrist as she paused. 

Cinder was going to say the same things she had said before.  _ Run away and leave. You can’t win.  _

Coco knocked for her instead, pulling Blake’s hand back down as they waited for an answer that was sure to come. Blake couldn’t help but reach her hand out for Coco’s, squeezing her fingers as tight as the terror in her throat. 

They kept their eyes on the door. Half-a-heartbeat passed and then two and Blake felt like keeling over. Her ears perked, waiting for Coco’s Scroll to ring, to beep or whatever her personalized notification alert was. 

“Go away, you  fugly slut!” 

A soft thud echoed from the other side. Blake could hear the sound of a deadbolt latching onto place and then another, in between light scratches and the shaking of the door. 

“Cinder, it’s Blake.” she placed a hand on the door. 

“I know!” Cinder shouted, “I told you to leave, didn’t I? Why the fuck  are you back here?” 

“She needs to chill.” Coco murmured, taking her Scroll out of her pocket. 

“I can’t believe you’d even bring your fucking girlfriend here.” Cinder continued, “You fucking lesbians need to leave or I swear I’m going to call the police on your asses.” 

“She’s not my...” Coco groaned and turned to Blake, “Do we even  ** need  ** her? I mean, she’s completely nuts!” 

“Oh, I always knew you were such a slut.” Cinder shouted. 

Coco stared down at her Scroll. Neptune still hadn’t texted her and he hadn’t called yet either. Something was wrong and Cinder really was unstable. How in all of Remnant was she going to get her to poke her head out of her door? 

“Cinder!” Blake knocked on the door, “Come out, please, I just need to talk to you.” 

“This is fine!” Cinder shouted back without missing a beat. 

“No, it’s not, Cinder." Blake gave an exasperated sigh, “Please, Cinder. I’ve got another plan. I just need you to come out and hear it.” 

“It’s not too late to go back and think of a better plan, Blake.” Coco, Scroll-hand raised, turned her full body to Blake, “ McNutso really doesn’t want to help and if you recall what the boys said, she’s not the only one we should be afraid of right here.” 

“Just give me five more minutes.” Blake said under her breath. 

Blake ignored the bad feeling in her gut and pushed the feeling of impending danger away. She took a step closer to Cinder’s door, placed her face close to the wood so she wouldn’t have to shout just to talk to her. 

She would have preferred not shouting at all, but she understood Cinder. 

If she was the one who had been forced out of Beacon and constantly being shadowed by Lambda boys, she would keep her doors locked and hide from the very people that could help her. But Cinder and Blake weren’t the same people. Blake had been lucky. Adam had stopped hounding her because he redirected all of his attention on getting Cinder out of the picture. 

And that was why Blake was here. 

Cinder might have been, as Coco had put it, Lady Kidnapper  McNutso , but she was as much a victim as Blake had been. 

“I told you last time,” Cinder’s voice cracked, “Adam took the video camera and threw it against the wall.” 

“Maybe you have more?” Blake could feel her knees get weak, “An email, a text message or a voice recording? Anything. Anything that could prove that he had hurt you.” 

There was movement from the behind the door. Blake looked up at Coco, hand still holding her Scroll up her frowning face. Before she could push herself off the door, Blake heard the sounds of the deadbolts and chains and the door clicking. 

A lone golden eye peeked out of the small crack of the door, darting between Blake and Coco. 

This wasn’t the same woman who stood over her that night at  Makeout Point, who had picked her up and threw her around like a ragdoll. There  were signs that that woman had been here before, but now, Cinder looked like a broken and abused woman, ready to crumble, flinching at every small sound and eyes forever scanning for danger. 

And Blake wondered what it would have taken for her to turn out the way she did. 

_ Ding, ding, dong.  _

Cinder cast a nervous glare at Coco. 

“Sorry. It’s my mom.” Coco took a step back and stared at her Scroll. 

Blake could feel her throat go dry as she watched Coco. She didn’t wait for a confirmation or if they should run back to her car. She turned to Cinder and  marveled at the hollowness of her appearance, how the past contempt now looked like submission and fear and hopelessness. 

“I’m getting tired of your visits.” Cinder sighed dejectedly, “When I say that there’s no hope, I meant it. Don’t you think I hadn’t tried what you’re trying to do now? He found out about the camera because I went to the police with it. He took it from me and told me that I could keep failing. I could leave Vale with my dignity  intact or he was going to make sure I’d disappear.” 

Coco stepped forward, tucking her Scroll back into her pocket and addressed Cinder, “This time, you’re not the only one seeking justice for his crimes.” 

“We have no proof.” Cinder choked as she stared helplessly at Blake. 

“We can keep digging.” Coco insisted, “We can find one eventually and it would be enough to take it to the cops. There are others who want to file a case against him and I think that alone could get him kicked out of Beacon University, at least.” 

Cinder didn’t look convinced. Her eyes kept moving between Blake and Coco, suspicious and doubtful. 

The two girls had promised her something invaluable, something they both knew she wanted: her life back. They promised that they would help her get it, that they would be with her every step of the way. Still, the doubt never faded from her face and Blake was beginning to feel her own feeble hope slip away from her grasp. 

“How do I know I can trust you?” Cinder’s voice was almost like a whisper, “I publicly admit what Adam did to me, to testify in court? That would only attract his attention. I can’t. No. Go home and leave me alone.” 

Blake reached for Cinder’s wrist, gently  tugging her backwards to look at her as she pleaded, “Cinder, please. We can’t do this without you.” 

“What if you fail?” 

“We won’t.” Coco pulled her Scroll out and took another look at it, “We’ll make sure of it.” 

“I still can’t.” Cinder’s lips quivered and her eyes started scanning the street. She involuntarily turned back to the inside of her home, much to the surprise of Coco and Blake. When she turned back towards their direction, she refused to look them in the eyes. 

Her back hunched, Cinder fiddled with her fingers over her chest. Her hair fell over her face and there were tears that pooled in the corners of her eyes. 

“They’re watching me.” she whispered, as if  _ they  _ were listening. 

“Who’s they?” Coco asked for Blake. 

**_ Crash! _ **

Cinder jumped where she stood. Her eyes wide and her body rigid; she looked like she would piss herself at any moment. The crash came from  _ inside  _ her home and she slowly turned to look. Blake and Coco glanced at each other before they tried to stop her. 

But she scurried like an anxious rat. She turned to her left, where the sound had come from, and reached for a can of air freshener. She clutched it against her chest like the hilt of a sword. Blake could see her still shaking, but she trudged on into whatever waited for her. 

Coco’s Scroll rang again, but the tune was different. 

“Blake, we  gotta go." Coco grabbed Blake’s arm and tried to pull her away. 

But Blake couldn’t just leave Cinder alone. Not right now. This must have been the danger that she had felt since that morning. It was in Cinder’s home, waiting for her to come near. 

All of a sudden, Sun  Wukong came into view, running from the room opposite of where Cinder had turned. The sound of metal clanged followed by a shrill scream. Sun cursed under his breath as he ran past Blake and Coco, urging them to come with him. 

The two girls turned on their heel and sprinted to Blake’s parked car. Neptune ran ahead of them, the first to reach for Blake’s door handle and try to pry it open. Blake cursed him under her breath, fumbling for her keys and almost breaking her thumb as she unlocked her vehicle. 

“You better run,  you _ filthy  _ **_ slut!”  _ ** Cinder rushed to her front door, a bunch of knickknacks in one arm and her other arm over her head. 

An almost-empty bottle of lotion landed a couple of steps from Blake’s car. 

She hadn’t even put her seatbelt on when she stepped on the accelerator and drove as fast as she could, away from Cinder, away from Kensington and Lander. The drive back to Beacon went by so quickly. She hadn’t even noticed how the rain started falling against her windshield until Neptune had asked her to turn on her windshield wipers. 

“What the hell just happened?” Blake demanded, shifting around as she reached for her seatbelt, “What the hell was that crash? Sun,  wh —” 

“It wasn’t me!” Sun shouted. 

Their voices sounded like a cacophony of screeching and complaining and panic. It looked really cold outside, but in Blake’s car, all four of them were sweating, the windows fogging where they breathed. 

Coco leaned close to Blake as she turned to the two boys behind her, “Neptune, you were  su —”

“Sky and Dove were there.” Neptune cried. 

_ They.  _

“What are you talking about?” Coco’s breath was hot against Blake’s cheek, “There was nobody there.”

“They were heading towards her house. It was the only way I could get all of us out of there.” 

“But they would have suspected something was wrong.” Sun joined in the argument and Blake really wished they would stop shouting within the small space of her car. 

The three of them argued. 

Blake let them scream and shout at each other all they wanted as she tried to peer through the unpredictable rain. One moment, it was pouring and, in the next, the rain fell softly around her vehicle. 

She could feel all those cups of coffee, the oatmeal cookie and the meatloaf stirring within her. 

Cinder wasn’t a lost cause after all. She had been so close to getting her on their side – maybe planning to break into her house had been a bad idea. But she didn’t know that Cinder wasn’t going to launch her back to her car. 

Sky and Dove. 

Neptune swore that he had seen them approaching Cinder’s home and despite Sun’s irritation, he reminded them all that Sky and Dove were the ones who brought him along with them to keep an eye on Cinder. 

_ They’re watching me.  _

Blake gripped the steering wheel and watched as Beacon University’s main entrance came into view. Had it really been twenty minutes since they left Cinder’s front door? The rain had stopped, but the entire city, the entire university was still bathed in grey. 

** Adam  ** was watching her and he was using Sky and Dove to do it. 

Blake squared her jaw and cruised through the school grounds. Perhaps the fear was never going to go away. Adam Taurus was capable of such disgusting things. He had forced his ex-girlfriend out of Beacon, beat her and almost killed her and had his own little cronies watch her. 

Adam must have been watching her too. 

“You’re texting Yang again?” Sun whispered – or at least tried to. 

Blake and Coco both looked at the rearview mirror at the same time. Sun stammered as he looked at all three of them while Neptune flipped his Scroll over and tucked it into his pocket. Blake pretended not to notice anything, focusing on the students milling about in the middle of the road and keeping herself from slamming on her horn to get them to clear the way. 

“Dude, you need to learn how to whisper properly.” Neptune cleared his throat. 

“Sorry.” 

Blake could feel Coco looking at her behind her sunglasses – the sky would be as black as night and she would still wear it on her face. She smiled to put her friend at ease, eyes still on the road, still pretending she didn’t just hear that Neptune and Yang were talking to each other. 

And uninterrupted? 

Coco leaned back against her seat and stared out the window, “At least Yang’s talking to someone. Her dad died and now she’s got a dickhead on her shoulder? Shit. She was really out of  it when Sun and I saw her at the Broken Blade.”

“The Broken Blade?” Blake quirked an eyebrow, taking a turn to drop Sun and Neptune off at the nearest cafeteria. 

“Some hobby shop Jaune works at.” Coco supplied. 

“What’re you guys talking about?” Sun whispered, his eyes going back and forth between Neptune’s eyes and the Scroll in his pocket. 

“Nothing.” he puffed his cheeks, “She just asked if we could talk.” 

Blake made the mistake of looking at him in the mirror. She tore her gaze away from his smug face. All hope of him ever liking her had gone out the window. Neptune never liked her and she didn’t mind if he never would. 

What did she care about him anyway?

She stopped the car in front of the cafeteria, thanked them and bid them goodbye. Coco hopped out of her car as  well,  Scroll in hand and wanting to head to class. Today had been a bust and Neptune  Vasilias had only made it worse. 

As soon as Coco walked through the cafeteria doors, Blake sat in her car and debated whether she even had the energy to  ** try  ** getting to her own class. The lack of sleep was getting to her and she doubted that coffee was going to help her stay awake. Coco was definitely not at her place and Velvet was probably already at work. She fought the sudden urge to call  Yatsuhashi or Fox. Dust, when was the last time she had seen the boys? 

Maybe the cafeteria wasn’t such a bad idea. She might not feel like eating, but her body was craving for it, the rumbling of her stomach echoing in her ears. She looked around and frowned at all of the  cars inside of campus. When it rained, there was barely any parking space. 

She sighed. She could always find someplace else to eat. 

Blake drove until she found the perfect spot to make a U-turn. Even the vacant lots by the old library were converted into emergency parking lots. 

_ Didn’t someone tell her they were building a  _ _ multistory _ _ car park around here? _

Her throat felt really dry and she wished she had a nice warm, glass of milk to chug right about now. She looked around at the vacant lots, all littered with cars and mud and trash. Even in the influx of cars, the nearest library still looked abandoned. 

The Hannah Turing Library  _ was  _ old and it was smaller than the newer one she preferred.  When she first started at Beacon, Blake thought that the school administration was going to have it demolished, but there it was, still standing, still old. Apparently, some people still go into the ancient building and one blonde woman in that familiar bronze-colored jacket walked out.

Blake shook her head and blinked several times. She really needed to get some sleep. But she wasn’t hallucinating. That was Yang, Scroll pressed against her ear and an angry expression on her face. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy ponytail and her free hand was sifting through her open bag. 

_ Why did you lie?  _

She backed her car into the muddy converted parking lot, hidden by the grey jeep wrangler and nearly crashing into another car that was haphazardly parked. The way Yang walked out the library played in her mind like a video on loop. Her hair, her jacket, her hand in her bag and a frown on her face, talking to her Scroll. 

She closed her eyes and ran her hands around the wheel, wiping the nervous sweat onto the vinyl. They had a million things that they should talk about, between themselves and the chaos that ensued around them. 

Everything led back to her. 

And Blake promised herself that she would tell Yang everything. 

_ Fuck it all.  _

She cut the engine and hopped out of her car. The ground squelched as she walked around the jeep, her eyes burning and her shoulders getting heavier by the second. Yang was standing with her back turned to Blake, hunched over her Scroll and  an umbrella tucked under her arm. 

She approached cautiously, glancing at the time on her watch. Yang didn’t need to be at  Noola’s for another half-hour and she had just slipped her Scroll into her bag. That would probably give her either five or twenty minutes before another call would come in. Maybe. Hopefully not. 

The last year had been a series of bad decisions, pretending to be invisible to ward off an obsessed psychopath and the karma she didn’t believe in biting her in the butt. 

But there was Yang Xiao Long, the same as the morning she had stood outside of the lecture hall, but not quite. She must have heard Blake coming closer, turning to frown at Blake. 

She stopped in her tracks, about a meter and a half away from the girl. Her mind was running through the million things she wanted to tell Yang: the night Cinder had kidnapped her, possibly the night Adam had zeroed in on her at a party, the cute and funny things Velvet had said about her, that  one time she knocked the teacher’s coffee mug off the table when she was fifteen, her favorite color – but her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and her throat felt like it was on fire. 

She stood underneath the mercy of Yang’s lilac eyes and she could only find comfort in the way the girl quietly waited for her to find her words. 

“I...” Blake started and stopped, taking a step back and forcing herself to stay, “Can we talk?” 

She watched as Yang turned to look at the old library, then back to her feet. The girl raised her head, but didn’t quite look at Blake, nodding as she shifted her weight about. 

That was enough of an invitation for Blake to step a little bit closer. Yang didn’t fully turn to her though and Blake tamped the thought of touching her down. The girl looked like she could break at any moment and right now, maybe Yang thought that Blake was the worst person to have around for that. 

They stood next to each other instead, Yang looking ahead while Blake ducked her head and watched Yang’s fingertips in the corner of her eyes. The silence was beginning to drag on, but still, Blake couldn’t quite open her mouth and  think of something to say. 

“Is Adam your boyfriend or not?” Yang asked softly. 

“No.” Blake prayed for Yang to steer the conversation. At least it was going somewhere and they wouldn’t just stand here and wait for the storm to douse them. 

“He said he was.” 

“He lied.” Blake turned to Yang, raised a hand to touch her, but decided against it, “He’s a liar, Yang. He’s a scheming prick. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself.” 

“I know.” 

There were no words to describe Yang Xiao Long, just a tightening in Blake’s chest. She wasn’t the same girl from that morning outside the lecture hall after all. No, she was a husk – a ghost. She looked as if she hadn’t slept at all last night, blinking twice as fast and squinting despite the dreariness of the day. 

Yang had always seemed larger than life back then, so unreal, so cheerful and optimistic, like nothing could ruin her day, like the sun that had the audacity to shine when the storm clouds demanded to come out. 

Blake settled for the word  _ smaller.  _ Yang Xiao long looked smaller and fragile. 

“Last year, he hit me.” Blake said simply, “Repeatedly. He kicked me in the ribs too.”

Yang turned to her, a fraction of a movement, but their eyes met and Blake could see pity behind her lilac irises, her long eyelashes and the bags beneath them. But Yang said nothing and Blake took it as a sign to continue. 

She cleared the nervousness from her throat. It felt... awkward... to say it out loud once more. Would Yang even believe her? Would Yang believe that Adam just simply wanted her, demanded to be with her and had hurt her because he couldn’t? 

Maybe Blake was at fault too. Maybe she hadn’t been clear when she had refused. Maybe she shouldn’t have given him her number. Maybe she seemed like she had been uncertain.  Maybe she should have made sure that he had understood. 

She looked to Yang, to find the judgment and disgust in her eyes, but there was only worry there, a softness she hadn’t seen before and feelings – Yang's feelings – that had always been on full-display on her sleeves, honest and sure. 

And maybe there was nothing wrong about being scared, but now her inaction and cowardice seemed like heinous crimes. Blake took another step closer to Yang; a hand raised and her fingertips barely touching the girl’s warm cheek. Yang didn’t seem to protest, standing still, eyes widening a little as Blake gently cupped her face and ran her thumb over her skin. 

“What are you planning to do next?” Yang stammered. 

“Get him expelled?” Blake laughed nervously, keeping herself from pinching Yang’s cheek. 

“His family’s going to stop donating to Beacon.” she looked away from Blake, “Sun and Neptune might lose their scholarships.” 

“I know.” Blake said solemnly, “But they’re willing to risk it all. Adam has to pay for his crimes and Sun and Neptune and Jaune are going to survive. We can’t turn a blind eye on him, Yang. He’ll just hurt more people. He’ll hurt you.” 

Yang forced herself to chuckle and smiled for one brief second, “I know.” 

Blake frowned, “I have no choice.” 

Yang pulled herself away, leaving Blake’s hand in the air as she dug into her bag with one hand and shoved her other hand into the pocket of her jacket, “Neither do I.”

Blake shook her head and tried to touch Yang’s shoulder, but she had successfully pulled away, her lilac eyes darting between the ground, Blake’s eyes and the hand that Blake held out for her. 

“What are you talking about, Yang?” 

“I thought I could just make things easy for myself.” Yang sighed, “I don’t... I don’t know anymore. I don’t know how I can survive this. I’m just so tired all the time. Everyone keeps lying and playing with me. I –”

“I’m  ** not  ** lying, Yang.” 

“I know that.”

“Then why won’t you believe me?” 

“I do believe you.” 

Yang looked defeated. She pulled her hand out of her bag and stared down at the small square plastic in her palm. She wrapped her hand around Blake’s wrist, gently twisted her hand as she pressed the plastic in Blake’s palm. 

“I believe you, Blake.” Yang squeezed Blake’s hand, warm and calloused, “Adam asked me to get you to keep quiet, but I couldn’t do it. I figured out a little too late what he was capable of and... I can’t let... I’m sorry, Blake.” 

“Yang?” Blake squeezed harder, tried to get Yang to look at her, but she managed to pull out of Blake’s grasp and turn on her heel. 

“Good luck.” 

Yang jogged away from Blake, slipping into her yellow hatchback and driving away just as Blake managed to regain her composure. It started raining again, gentle pitter-patters against her skin and the cars that were parked all around her. Yang’s car sped down the road and out of Blake’s sight. 

Blake opened her palm and frowned at the small little plastic square in her hand. The rain soaked through her coat as she wondered when the last time was that she had seen a memory card this big.


	22. Head in the Sky

Her mind was reeling. 

She was beginning to feel sick. 

But she couldn’t stop now. 

_ Damn it.  _

She stepped on the accelerator a little too forcefully and prayed that the hatchback wouldn’t give out against the pouring rain. 

No, she wasn’t running away. Not again. Heaven knows that was all she had ever been good for, but nobody needed to be reminded of that. No, she just needed a little bit of time for herself, a little bit of distance. She couldn’t find it in her heart to ask, to beg, to buy herself a little bit more time before she would have to give up what little peace her life had. 

Not when it meant someone else would have to suffer. 

_ No.  _

_ Blake doesn’t deserve that.  _

Yang knew in her heart that every little thing that had been battering her to her knees, every little problem was solvable, but her mind was still reeling and she was still feeling really sick to her stomach. She wouldn’t even want to drag other people into her stupid problems. Not, Ren and Nora or  Pyrrha or Weiss or even Neptune. They might have hinted their willingness to help, but really? 

Neptune had his own problems with the fraternity and it didn’t feel like a huge threat until it did.  He could offer to help her in some way, could offer to sit down with her at Jessie’s Joes again to figure things out, but Yang would never ask him to if it only meant he’d sit there and watch her feel nothing for him. 

Ren and Nora had their own situations to deal with . Forget about  Pyrrha and Weiss. There was probably nothing Yang could do to make up for the things they have  _ already  _ done for her. 

Adam  _ fucking  _ Taurus. Damn it. She believed him! Maybe for just one hot second there, but she believed him nonetheless. And it doesn’t change anything that he hasn’t thrown Neptune,  Jaune and Sun out – for her – but the three boys had voluntarily left the House on their own, stirring up trouble and  _ investigating.  _

For her. 

Everything was her fault. 

_ But I didn’t even know.  _

Yang turned her radio on instead, if only to make sure her head  ** was  ** indeed ringing, that this wasn’t just her disappointment and her disgust playing tricks on her. The song shook her car windows. The rain and the crackling of the speakers sounded like metal scraping against metal. 

Her own mother was no help either. She had been desperately trying to call Raven since she had left the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity last night, seeking answers and wishing that this had all been an  elaborate scheme, a cruel joke that her mother had pulled on her. But the longer she sat basking in the smell of wet carpet and subjected herself to this auditory torture, the clearer things became. 

She drove past  Barthel Hill, deciding against going up there. It may have been a Thursday afternoon and the weekend party animals were nowhere in sight, but the rain had gotten stronger in the last hour and she doubted her hatchback could manage the drive up the steep, muddy road. 

Yang was going to stay on the highway, driving as fast as her car would allow, out of Vale and out into the wide expanse of a world bigger than her problems. 

She only had half-an-hour before she had to make the trip back to  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers for her shift. She promised Ms. Delaney that she would show up and get back to her regular work schedule, maybe work extra hours now and again to make up for all the weeks she had spent in Patch during  Taiyang’s funeral. 

Thirty minutes would be enough to clear her head. More than enough. She could stop beside some overlook, scream her heart out for the next ten minutes, try to pull herself back together for another five, suck it up, move on, maybe until she would find herself in bed that night. 

The nightmares kept piling up and Yang was beginning to feel her body breaking down on her. 

She was speeding out of Vale, the music so loud and the rain beating like drums that she could barely hear distant horns honking as they sped past her. 

She passed by the Now Leaving sign, twice her height and the words painted in bold red. There were fewer cars the further she drove, but she knew how reckless drivers could get when they saw a stretch of open road ahead of them. She slowed down a little, fearing that she must have overworked her beat up car in her desire to get away. 

She reached for her Scroll, dipping her hand in between her textbook, loose sheets of paper and a notebook she barely used. She dialed Raven’s number again, hoping this time, she would finally,  _ finally,  _ pick up and answer all of Yang’s questions. But it just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. Yang gritted her teeth as another call went unanswered. She remembered how demanding Raven had always been whenever Yang wouldn’t pick up as soon as she’d liked. Apparently, the same couldn’t be said for her. 

Threats. 

Just threats. Yang knew so well that Raven did not give empty threats, that they weren’t just to scare her to do whatever her mother wanted her to do. Every single threat had been real and horrific and eternally being held over her head. The threats, they had kept coming and they might always keep coming, but now, Yang Xiao Long no longer feared them. 

She had one thing left in this world and it was the one person she had to stay strong for. 

_ It’s either her or you.  _

It was getting clearer now.  ** That  ** one had been an empty threat. Raven might think that it was either Yang or Ruby, but it was only just Yang. Her little sister just had the misfortune of getting caught in Yang’s area of devastation. All because Yang thought she was ready to make up for past mistakes, to take care of her little sister the same way she did back when they were younger. 

The damned tears rushed to her head, but Yang held them back. There was no time for crying now. She had a thousand other things to do today. She had to focus. She had to take the good with the bad – and there were  ** a lot  ** of bad – but there was also good. 

She could be good. 

She could be better. 

_ Focus.  _

_ Breathe.  _

There was still that matter with Dr. Elizabeth Draper. Ruby’s aunt was returning to her quaint hometown called  Pino Town in a day or two. Yang still hadn’t even mentioned her to Ruby. But she should. The woman had asked to meet them next week. 

Yang felt a familiar feeling of falling, like a weight had suddenly latched itself into her insides and wanted to pull her into the earth. 

Ruby’s birthday was coming up and she still hadn’t figured out what to get her. You only turn seventeen once and Yang had already missed the last three birthdays. 

Then there was the matter at work, about how to ask Ms. Delaney for more work hours or if maybe she had a more permanent position available. 

Last thought of the day was to give Mr. Ozpin another call, maybe ask him if he wanted to buffer for Yang in this meeting with Dr. Draper next week. Then they could talk about how the house was doing, if there have been more people who were interested and maybe, just maybe, the house had already been sold. 

Yang could feel the regret suffocating her. She tried to ignore it, reminded herself not to cry. She’d had enough of regrets to last her a lifetime and  _ being Ruby's big sister  _ was not going to be one of them. It had only been a little over a month since the little monkey face got stuck with her and Yang felt as if she hadn’t done anything right. What made things worse was the fact that Ruby had gotten into her head that she could just punch some boy because he had been mean. 

Yang frowned. 

That wasn’t like Ruby to punch a boy. It wasn’t like her to even hurt anyone at all. Sure, it had been for a good reason and Yang would have punched him sooner if  sh —but that was it, wasn’t it? Yang would have punched him and would feel no remorse about it. Ruby must have thought she would be okay with it. 

But they’d only reconnected for a few weeks. Had  Taiyang taught her little sister to be a little bit more like her after she left? Or did she figure that out all on her own? 

Ruby had always been the good one.

And it didn’t help that Yang wondered what her life would have been if Raven hadn’t left, if Summer hadn’t died, if  Taiyang hadn’t died as well and if she hadn’t left and if she never bothered with the girl who sat next to her in class, if she hadn’t picked up Ozpin’s first call. 

It would still be the same because Yang was the fuck-up and each time her world crumbled, she ran and she hid and she kept herself away. In fact, she was running right now. 

The raindrops fell one by one on her roof like the sound of a million tiny footsteps. The weight in her chest and the growing stench of wet carpet was beginning to get to her. She kept close watch on the road ahead of her and wondered just how far from Vale she had been, how much further should she go until she arrived in the next town. 

She held her breath and kept quiet. Starting a new life seemed quite tempting – just a little bit – but the thought was still there, still lingering in the back of her mind. She could change her name, get a job as a diner waitress and possibly go to night school or something. She could share an apartment with three other people and they would argue all the time because they would be lazy pricks and Yang would always be so pissed off. 

The sound of a guitar echoed from the radio.  _ … I want to live...  _

She would kick herself in the ass if she would ever think about leaving Ruby...  ** again. ** Never again.  _ Damn it.  _ She hated this song. It reminded her so much of her father, about hot summer afternoons in Patch, the expensive sound system shaking the floorboards with this old-timey tune. 

_ Is dad haunting me now?  _

This song – this stupid song, the one that played in between those cheesy AM radio shows about cowboys and philosophy and humanity and, and  _ tigers,  _ of all things – it embodied the very spirit of  Taiyang Xiao Long. 

Maybe he  ** was  ** haunting her... via this annoying old song. 

She had heard it over and over as a child that she was now still familiar with the words and the ego sure as hell dripped down every single word and note. There was more to life than just surviving.  _ Do it or die.  _ But what else was Yang supposed to do? 

_ Keep going.  _

She slammed her foot on the accelerator and reached for her Scroll once more. She had so many questions, so many thoughts parading and making an infernal racket in her skull, haunting her sleepless nights and every single moment that she would lose focus. 

It was eating at her. 

She  ** knew  ** the answers. They were the most logical and predictable thing in all of Remnant. But Yang had to hear it for herself, to hear it from the only other person she had left in her life – whether they both liked it or not. Yang knew everything she would say too: that Yang was a failure, an ass-kissing girl trying to please the dead if only to make herself feel better about being truly alone. 

**_ POP! _ **

Yang quickly reached for the stick shift as she felt the hatchback lurch sideways. Her foot slammed onto the brakes, but the car kept moving, twisting and sliding around over the wet, slippery asphalt. She felt her heart stop and her toes beginning to ache. 

She had never been this scared in her entire life. 

“Shit, shit, shit.” she chanted as she maneuvered the car to safety, a little out of the road and definitely far from the guard rails. 

She held her breath, closed her eyes and waited until the world stopped spinning. 

She could feel an ache across her chest and at the back of her neck. Yang opened her eyes, slack-jawed, as she stared into grey, grey and more grey. The rain beat heavily over her roof and her windshield. Then there was that unmistakable sound of a speeding car in the distance. 

Her old, trusty hatchback was dead. 

Her father’s song had long ended and a new one had started rattling her windows. She knew that it wasn’t important, but she was certain that this song was called Runaway. She groaned and cursed the universe. 

She tried to look out of her windows, tried to look at the ground where her hatchback had stopped. She feared that she might have crashed into the guard rails and was teetering over the edge of a cliff. Stupid as it was, she shook the car to make sure that she and the hatchback were safely on solid ground. 

Yang leaned over the steering wheel and tried to start the car, frowning as she could only hear the engine cackling and failing. She tried again and again and again and, out of frustration, she stopped. She sat still in her seat, looked out the window, at the big wall of grey. The stench was only getting worse. 

She took a deep breath, calmed herself down and kept herself from spiraling into violent rage. She tried again and again until her fingers went numb and the cold metal of her car key had scratched her finger. That was the last straw. Yang smacked the console, gripped the steering wheel and tried to shake the dead thing as she tried her hardest not to scream. For the finale, she slammed her head on the car horn, the sound only fueling her anger, but her exhaustion forced her to swallow it down and accept her fate: this. 

She wanted to yank the car radio out now.  _ This  _ song was much louder than she had remembered and it was just another reminder of how Yang Xiao Long majorly fucked up. 

_ Runaway? Fuck. Story of my life. Fucking assholes think this is a nice song?  _

She would have to check under the hood. She could fix a few car problems, change a tire and push her old hatchback on her own. Aside from the near-intermediate fixes that she knew of, Yang would have to call for help and she really didn’t want to let her little sister know that she was halfway to the next town when her car had broken down. 

Heaven knows Ruby might think that was Yang was trying to run away again. She really didn’t need that kind of negativity in her life right now. 

Yang unlatched her seatbelt and rummaged around the passenger’s seat for her umbrella, but the wind started howling outside and she wondered if it was even a good idea to even use it. It would just get blown by the wind and the rain would still be able to soak her anyway. Besides, her jacket wasn’t waterproof. It didn’t even have a hood. 

The rain and the wind licked at her exposed arm as she pushed her door open, soaking through the fabric of said jacket and her jeans. Yang heard her Scroll ringing as she managed to poke half of her body out into the cold. She let it ring. She really had to get herself back to Vale. 

She popped the hood open and began assessing the damage. She could fix this, she thought to herself, her eyes trying to see through the curtain of grey and rainwater and the howling wind that could definitely blind her. The old girl had died on her thousands of times before and Yang had always been able to fix it well enough to get her to the nearest mechanic without calling for a tow truck. 

The work took about twenty minutes, at least. Half-satisfied with her minor fixes and half-irritated by the storm, Yang circled back to the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. The hatchback gave another cackle before it choked and refused to live another day. 

Yang slammed her forehead against the car horn again and listened as the grating sound was muffled by the storm outside. 

She turned to her Scroll to ease her mind off of this miserable situation, the device resting on the passenger’s seat where she had left it. 

_ Two missed calls.  _

A part of her wished it was Blake, but she really wanted it to be Raven. She quickly checked to see who the call had been from and frowned when she saw Ruby’s name across the screen. The last call had been fifteen minutes, right after Yang decided she would rather brave the storm and failed to get her car started. 

When she was about to call her sister back, another name flashed across her screen and Yang wondered why Weiss  Schnee herself was calling her at a time like this. 

“Hi, Weiss!” Yang shouted into her Scroll. 

“ Ya –” there were other voices on the other line with Weiss, speaking to each other, but the sounds were all white noise against the ravage of the storm, “Don’t shout at me! Where are you?” 

Yang looked out the window, looked out at the road to try to find some sort of sign. She wondered where the other cars have gone. There were a couple of vehicles who were driving to the same direction she did, but now she was alone. She couldn’t even hear the sound of cars from the distance. 

“I don’t know.” Yang turned the car radio down as she shut her door. 

“You don’t know?” Weiss repeated a little too harshly. 

“I don’t know, okay, princess? I must be somewhere along the main highway between Vale and  Delend .” 

“You have to come back to your apartment, Yang.” Weiss croaked. 

Weiss  Schnee never croaked. She barely showed any emotions at all. But Yang had heard the fear in her voice and she couldn’t help but think of the worst. 

“Why?” she asked instead of cutting the line and run back into the rain to kick her car into starting again. 

Weiss’ silence was unsettling. Yang plugged a finger into her vacant ear and tried to listen closely to the voices in the background, whispering, arguing and panicking. She recognized Mr.  Dormitorio’s sleepy voice, attempting to sound soothing and then there was another person there, a little too far away for Weiss’ Scroll to pick up. 

“Are you sure?” she heard Weiss say on the other end, “How long ago was this?” 

Yang took this as an opportunity to get the car started again from her seat. She turned the key in the ignition, heard the cackle and the coughing and started again. Did the battery run out of juice? What the hell was wrong with this thing? 

“Yang?” Weiss directed at her. 

“Yup?” Yang breathed through her mouth, twisted the key with the gentleness her anxiety was trying to demolish. There was the familiar cackle and finally, the sound of the engine running. 

“Yang,” Weiss said carefully, gently, “Mr.  Dormitorio said he saw Ruby leave about an hour ago. He said her bag looked suspiciously big and she didn’t say goodbye to him.” 

“She must have just gone to the store or something.” Yang muttered in disbelief. 

The sounds of the storm, her car and the soft crooning on the radio couldn’t silence the thundering of her heart as it sank further and further down. Yang involuntarily looked at her Scroll for answer, wondering why Ruby had been trying to call her earlier. 

She wedged the device between her shoulder and her ear as she turned the car back onto the road. She switched on her high beams to try to illuminate her way and signal oncoming cars of her hurry. She’d been alone on this part of the road for about half an hour, but there was nothing wrong about being safe. She frowned as she leaned forward and didn’t feel the tug of her seatbelt across her chest. 

“Yang, you don’t hones—” 

“Was she with someone?” Yang barked out, putting Weiss on speaker so she could put her seatbelt on. 

“What? No. Your landlord was worried  becau —”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, Yang!” Weiss shouted into her ear, “Just… Where are you? I’m going to send my c—”

“No, no. I’m heading back.” Yang wished she could move faster, “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.” 

“Drive  sa —”

Yang ended the call and  pulled her seatbelt over her chest, feeling a little less anxious as she shifted gears and her foot pressed on the accelerator  Not a car in sight, but she knew she would have to slow it down when she would pass by the Now Entering sign to Vale. 

This must be Adam’s work. Ruby would never admit to it, but she would never do  _ anything  _ alone. That was why Ozpin had called Yang when  Taiyang Xiao Long passed, that was why Ruby called him on Yang for not coming home from the Lambda party. Ruby would never be alone, if she had a choice. 

_ It’s either her or you.  _

Raven hadn’t picked up any of Yang’s calls at all. It had been over twelve hours since she started calling her mother and not even a single call back or a text telling her to not call. It could easily have been her too. They were all in on it anyway. 

But that thought had only made things worse. 

**_ POP! _ **

The hatchback lurched forward once more and Yang quickly stepped on the brakes. Her pulse was racing and her blood ran cold for an eternity. Her Scroll began ringing at this point and a  she heard the familiar old pop tune on the radio.

The car crawled to a stop eventually and Yang wondered if she had pissed herself at some point. 

Perhaps the old girl wasn’t safe to drive anymore. At all. And Yang should stop flirting with danger with her hotheadedness. She had to keep herself safe. She had someone to come home to – at least, she had to make sure she still had someone to come home to. 

_ Fuck.  _

Yang tried to steady her breathing as she glanced at her Scroll on the passenger’s seat, wondering if her soul had already left her body at some point or if that was vomit in the back of her throat. 

_ Ruby is calling…  _

Yang swallowed the sickening fear down, grabbed her Scroll and pressed it against her ear, “Ruby!”

“Hey,  Ya —” 

“Where  ** the hell  ** are you?” 

“Uh…” 

_ Honk. Honk.  _

“Ruby, are you hurt? Is someone with you?” 

“What? No. I… uh… I went out for a little bit. I’m alone.” 

Yang ran her hand down her face and tried to breathe the tension out through her nostrils, “Where, Ruby? Just tell me where you are.” 

They were both silent. Yang was starting to feel another headache coming from the sound of the rain on her windshield, the annoyingly soft singing from the radio she couldn’t bring herself to turn off, the chatter from Ruby’s side of the line and incessant horns blaring from a distance. 

Yang tried to start her car again and again and again, but the old girl had given up and Ruby kept stammering.

This was not a good sign. 

“Yang, please understand.” Her little sister continued with a voice so small, Yang might have missed her words had she not hung on her every word, “I’m old enough to make my own decisions.” 

Everything was a mess. Just when Yang thought she was closer to getting a hold of the situation, it all ended up a splattered mess in her hands. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Yang shouted. She didn’t mean to shout and she didn’t mean to curse at her little sister at a time like this, but there was only so much Yang Xiao Long could do and this just might be the end of her rope. 

“It’s either me or you, right?” Ruby laughed bitterly, “Your mom’s loud enough to wake an entire floor up.” 

Of course, this was Raven. 

Raven who had  **_ always  _ ** hated Ruby Rose for being born, for Summer Rose picking up the pieces she left scattered on the floor of her childhood home. 

“You heard that?” Yang whispered. It was the only thing her body would allow. 

Days and nights of wandering around Vale, trying to patch up whatever damage was in her life was tiresome and try as Yang might, the damage never went away. Now, Yang Xiao Long sat somewhere out of Vale, in the middle of a storm while her little sister had apparently ran away and there was nothing she could do about it. 

“Ruby…” Yang’s voice cracked and a storm of her own brewed in her chest, rising higher and higher, “please… I can’t… I don’t… ” 

_ Can’t g _ _ et back to Vale to find you right now?  _

_ Can’t let you lie to my face?  _

_ Don’t want anyone to take you away from me? _

The storm was strong, inside herself and outside of her car, and Yang was just a girl. She could challenge the odds, tempt fate and play at being a hero, but Yang was really just a girl, broken and bruised. She was weak, a coward, a runner. A vagabond all throughout the day and the night. 

There were no shelters for people like her and maybe it was a little bit of kindness that she couldn’t remember the rest of Summer Rose’s famous quote or else she’d find out the things that she could never have and could never be. 

She tried harder. For Ruby. For herself. That was what  Taiyang Xiao Long had done, wasn’t it? That was what Summer would have wanted her to do: to try harder. Yang laughed to herself, listening to her little sister’s nervous breathing. 

If  Taiyang and Summer were alive today, they would be so disappointed in her.  Her father would tell her that sometimes her best was not good enough, that she had to try harder next time. Summer. Sweet Summer Rose would wipe the tears from her eyes and tell her she could do anything. 

But they were gone. 

Her father passed away having never seen her since she left, disappointed in her and probably wishing something bad would befall her. Maybe this was her father’s dying wish. Everyone could tell her that her father would be proud of the woman she was today, but Yang knew better. And Summer had gone too soon filling Yang’s head with answers she didn’t even have questions to, always the warmth in her childhood home and always the smile that Yang had  wanted to imitate.

“Let’s face it, Yang.” Ruby said solemnly, “Our lives had been better of without each other. You started a new life and I’ve seen it, Yang, and it’s pretty good. Your friends are nice. Your boss is nice… Your apartment’s a shithole though, but your neighbor’s nice too.” 

Yang could feel the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, bile rising in her throat and the air getting thinner, but still she laughed, “You deserve nice things too, Ruby… good things… and I’ll do everything I can to make sure of it.” 

“I know.” Ruby laughed too, “But  ** you  ** don’t deserve for the things you worked hard for to be taken away from you… because of me. You have to trust me, Yang. I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I’m turning seventeen in two weeks!” 

“I f lipping  know!” 

Her throat was dry. It was an odd sensation as her soggy shirt and jacket clung to her skin, how the smell of wet carpet had only gotten worse and how the rain was warm against her cheeks. 

“I was  gonna bake you a cake.” Yang’s voice cracked, “I was – Ruby, where are you? I’m coming to get you. We have so much to talk about.” 

“I’m leaving, Yang.” Ruby whispered, Yang’s name had been drowned out by the sound of a loud car horn, “I’ m not a little girl anymore. I’ll be fine, okay?  I’ll call you when I’m settled.” 

The call ended. Yang stared at her Scroll, the rain poured harder and louder against her windshield and the damned radio was still playing that same old song. She ignored the warmth of her cheeks and the heat pooling in her throat and in her chest. Yang  redialed her little sister’s number. 

_ No, she wasn’t a little girl anymore.  _

She cursed her blurry eyesight and the pre-recorded message from the other line. 

_ The number you have dialed is unattended.  _

_ … I come home…  _

Yang kept swallowing and swallowing the dryness in her throat, twisting the key in the ignition just to hear the dead hatchback mock her. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Yang Xiao Long had a plan and everything was going to be okay. 

This can’t be entirely Ruby’s idea. No way. The little  gi —she would never do such a thing. She might not have been a child, and Yang wanted to take back every single time she had called Ruby a child, but she couldn’t have thought about running away on her own. 

This wasn’t like Ruby. She wasn’t a runner. Yang was. 

_ … or you find me?...  _

Yang slammed a fist on her steering wheel, the sound of her horn barely a whisper  while the storm crashed on her windshield and her roof.  She had to call for help. She had to call Weiss. 

_ Shit. _

She just had to figure out where the flipping fuck she was. 

She couldn’t see a damn thing from outside  ** or  ** inside her own damn car. She bit her tongue, swiped the warm moisture from her cheeks with one hand, and fumbled around for her Scroll on the passenger’s seat. 

_ … love me ‘til my heart stops...  _

The sound of the rain had gotten louder, moving closer and closer. She looked out the window, at whatever she could make out through this curtain of grey and misfortune – a light . 

Then there were more sounds. They echoed in her ears, maybe one by one, maybe all at once. 

The sound of the storm, her windows rattling, horns blaring, glass cracking and breaking, the winds howling, her shallow breathing, the crunch of metal against metal. 

The rain poured all around. The air smelled like rain, wet carpet and gasoline. 


	23. Cold-Hearted

Quid pro quo. 

That was the natural order of things: an exchange. 

A little bit of kindness for a lifelong friend; a little mistake for a lifetime of disappointment; the tiniest bit of success for an even tiny bit of  approval. Money? Money was practically universal currency, accepted just about anywhere for just about anything. Refusing something? That usually ended with threats, bruises and blood. Or that was just where it ended. 

Blake’s cowardice, however, earned her silence. 

She could fake at courage all she wanted, but the truth of the matter was, she was scared. She wasn’t like Sun who had defied his allegiances and fought for justice and equality for his fellow members, for her own freedom. She wasn’t like Jaune who openly stood against Adam Taurus because he just thought he'd make things fair.

No, she was just Blake Belladonna, a liar, a coward, a heartless bitch and a bad friend. 

She sat in her car and waited for the minutes to tick by. After the way Yang had walked away from her yesterday, Blake couldn’t bring herself to drive all the way to Velvet’s place and sleep on her couch. Because how could she sleep? 

Every single time she tried to talk to Yang, the universe decided against it and she was beginning to realize that this was because she  **_ lied  _ ** to the girl in the first place. 

_ Poor Yang.  _

Blake had found herself sleeping in front of the deli. The family that ran the shop were friendly enough and she felt a little safe around them and their coffee was strong enough to keep her awake until after two in the morning , clutching the memory card Yang gave her. 

The memory card was big, about an inch or two. Black plastic that housed the chip inside. It was really fascinating how an object so small could hold so much, but times were changing and most devices were built for smaller-sized memory cards with bigger memory space. This piece of plastic was sort of a relic, but there were still adapters or computers that could read it. 

Blake just didn’t have one. 

She could go to the nearest tech store she could find and  hand over her credit card for a computer that could read this memory card. She was itching to do just that. She imagined herself plugging the little thing and opening the files it contained and she prayed that there would be just one video of Cinder and Blake at the mercy of Adam Taurus. 

She must have been going crazy. Nobody in their right minds would even want to watch video footage of themselves getting beat up, to see the damage that they had only felt. There was a certain mercy in not knowing and maybe she could ask Coco to look at the card instead. 

But  Jaune Arc, the famous  _ ‘rebel leader’  _ had sent her a message: an address. 

The broken blade. 359 springs st. They’re ready.   
Jaune Ark, 9:36 AM

Without further ado, Blake made her way to The Broken Blade on  359 Springs Street. She knew exactly where it was, but it had been a while since she even went near this part of town.  It took her under ten minutes to get there from Coco’s apartment. Now, the  _ finding a parking space?  _ That took twice as long. 

The Broken Blade. It was a fitting title, a little lacking in its punch, but it was strong – in the opposite direction of what it truly was.  The place was as cluttered and messy as she remembered and she was surprised that The Broken Blade was much worse. 

The shelves, racks and displays looked cramped together with as little regard for breathing space or even  _ walking  _ space for whoever was interested in sticking around – and there was only one person inside the shop. 

Blake almost gagged when she walked through the door. Despite the short notice, the thought of being  ** this  ** late gave her a migraine. Now this? She took a moment to compose herself, to not seem rude – but honestly, this shop smelled like three-year-old unwashed socks. She wondered how this woman could stand being under such unpleasant conditions. 

_ You’re one to ask.  _

There was only one obvious answer: she got used to it. This woman must have found the place disgusting, but kept it to herself, for fear of losing her job, maybe. She must have tried cleaning up, but it always came back to this state of disarray. 

Ignorance truly is bliss. One would never know when the hangman had coiled his noose. For this woman, it’s this pungent smell in the air – and Blake was truly sorry she should have to endure this – but she was glad she wouldn’t have to know what having a stalker felt like. 

Blake shook her head. This woman must already know. 

“Hi.” Blake stood in front of the counter, making sure to keep her hands to herself, “I’m looking for  Jaune .”

“ Jaune who?” 

Blake frowned. The woman – Tina, as it said on her name tag – was blissfully reading her magazine and drumming her fingers over the counter. It was as if Blake just appeared out of thin air, asked a question, and then disappeared. 

“ Jaune .” Blake tried again, noting the humidifier at Tina’s elbow, “Blonde guy with greasy hair? Hangs out with other boys.” 

Tina looked up from her magazine and gave her a disapproving look, a disgusted one, an embarrassed one? “Lots of blondes with greasy hair come and go here. You’re not being very specific.” 

Blake blinked at Tina. The girl was blunt. She was right about the specific thing, but right now she was very unhelpful to Blake’s mission. A small buzzing sound came from her pocket. Blake stepped away from Tina and pulled her Scroll out. 

Look for Alistair.   
Jaune Ark, 10:13 AM

She frowned at her Scroll. Who in all of Remnant was Alistair? Yes, she knew that it was  Jaune and whatever business he had with her needed the utmost caution, but really? Alistair? A secret passcode to give to a gatekeeper who didn’t seem to take her job seriously. 

But Blake followed through all the same. 

She turned to Tina and tapped the counter to get her attention, “I’m looking for Alistair.” 

That seemed to have gotten Tina’s attention. Her piercing blue eyes were fixed on Blake’s and they were cold and distant. Emotionless. She wondered if this was what she looked like to other people, so  fierce , headstrong  and heartless. 

She wondered if this was what she showed everyone around her. She wondered if this was what Yang saw. 

But Blake could never pull off a smile the way Tina did, how she had gone from cold-hearted bitch to accommodating trickster in a matter of seconds. Tina seemed younger when she smiled, more so with that glint of mischief in her eyes. 

“Jeez, are  ** you  ** his girlfriend?” Tina smirked. 

“Definitely not.” Blake cocked an eyebrow at Tina, bright blue eyes, a devilish grin and one hell of a hairstyle. She must definitely be someone’s type. 

Tina sighed, shook her head and straightened herself. She scratched her shaved head and shot Blake a soft smile. “Sorry about that. He was pretty upset when I just let that other girl in here last time. Now  ** that  ** was a blonde." 

Blake swallowed the lump in her throat and kept her eyes on Tina. If Coco hadn’t mentioned Yang Xiao Long’s unfortunate visit to this place yesterday, Blake would have been blissfully unaware of who this woman was talking about. 

“Yeah, you can go on in.” Tina jerked her hand over her shoulder, towards the direction of a door that had a sign with “Authorized Personnel Only” written in black on that sickly yellow plastic. 

Blake cautiously went past her, keeping Tina in her periphery in case the uninterested gatekeeper decided to follow the instructions of the sign on the door. But Tina was pretty good at putting things behind her or maybe she just gave zero fucks, maybe she hated this place or maybe she wanted to help. 

Whatever her reasons may be, Blake was grateful for her reluctant cooperation, pitiful as it might be. 

The  _ basement  _ was poorly lit. Whoever built the place thought that a single light bulb could completely light up the entire room. It reminded her of those movies where someone was being interrogated and a lone light swung back and forth in an eerie manner. 

There was no mistaking  Jaune Arc, standing in between the stoic Neptune and two other boys that seemed familiar. She had seen them around campus before, hanging around other Lambda boys. Sun had even spoken to them once or twice. But they looked so run-of-the-mill, nondescript, plain. They looked just like any other boy would. 

“What’s going on?” Blake demanded, stopping halfway down the steps, ready to bolt out the door if anyone of them so much as moved suspiciously. 

“We might have what you’re looking for.” One of the boys croaked, the dirty blonde with hair greasier than  Jaune’s . 

Neptune cleared his throat, puffed out his chest and glared at the two boys, “Sky and Dove here paid a little visit to our friend in Kensington and Lander yesterday . Just like every single day for a year.”

Sky and Dove. 

_ They’re watching me.  _

Still, the two boys looked just like two regular boys. Harmless, nondescript, quiet and shy. And that sent a shiver down Blake’s spine. She looked closely at the boys, tried to find any  hint of their capability to sink so low as to stalk and terrorize a girl. A smile suddenly turned more sinister, a chuckle less appropriate and two pairs of eyes that wandered too much.

“You went to Cinder’s place yesterday.” the boy with the pasty skin and dark blue hair that fell just above his shoulders moved closer to Blake. 

Blake sighed, “Yeah. We left because you guys were there.” 

“Who the fuck told you that?” the blonde demanded. 

This was the thing about getting little sleep – the uncomfortable kind – she was irritable and impatient. Blake shook her head and watched as the two boys shuffled in their place.  Jaune and Neptune were content standing in between them. 

She had better things to do than to stand here and wait for them to get to the point. 

Blake carelessly waved a hand in Neptune’s direction just to answer the blonde’s question. She was tired, and sleepy and her neck ached, her head was pounding and her eyes felt like they were burning. 

“Sissy nark.” someone murmured.

Blake turned to  Jaune . She clenched her fists and bit her lower lip just to wake herself up a little bit.  Jaune looked just as impatient as she did, albeit a little less angry. Beside him, Neptune was glaring daggers at Sky and Dove, whoever had called him a  _ sissy nark,  _ a threat glistening in his eyes. 

“Why are we all here?” Blake felt like she had fallen asleep for a split-second as she finished her question. 

“We told you,” the blonde inched forward, “we might have something that you’re looking for.” 

“But it’s  gonna cost you.” the other one said. 

“I already paid you, Sky.” Neptune said through gritted teeth.

Sky smirked and shrugged, “That was to get us to meet you here and to keep us quiet about this place.”

“You’re not the only one who can play dirty, Nep.” 

Blake glanced at Neptune. He was livid, his nostrils flaring as he breathed and stared down his brothers. Blake feared that she might get caught in the middle of a fist fight.  Jaune must have sensed her unease. She was surprised by how casually he stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other boys. 

“ Before we talk money, would you mind describing what you could possibly have that might help us?” 

Dove looked as if he was ready to tear  Jaune’s face off, but Sky, on the other hand, seemed pleased with himself. Without a word, he turned to Dove, held his hand out and waited for his friend to even acknowledge him. Dove still glared at  Jaune and Blake as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and produced a three-inch manila envelope . 

Blake could only hold back a snort, wondering just how much Neptune must have paid them for something so small. But she tried to look disinterested, told herself that that small thing could mean everything to a lot of people. She was carrying a memory card herself. It was small, about an inch in size, and can easily be misplaced and it had cost her a girl with a lopsided smile. Unfortunately for Blake, she had no idea what was even inside of it. Yet. 

“ You need proof to get Adam out of Beacon.” Sky scoffed, “Inside this envelope is a memory card with all the information that you might need.” 

“Videos, photographs, you name it.” Dove smirked at Blake. 

She felt her skin crawl. 

But this wasn’t possible. 

No, she had the memory card that could incriminate Adam. It was inside  ** her  ** pocket, not in the hands of two Lambda boys who could be lying to her. She and Yang were the only two people who knew about the memory card’s existence in Blake’s possession. 

They couldn’t possibly have a copy of it. 

Blake bit her lip and stared towards the direction of a mop bucket. This was bad. She felt an ache in her stomach and yesterday’s coffee swirling around in her intestines. Her eyes felt like burning and no matter how many times she would blink, her body demanded for her to get some sleep. 

Adam must have made copies of the video that Cinder had taken that fateful night, for some ungodly reason. Was it out of pure  repulsiveness? Did he get a kick out of replaying how he had almost murdered two girls about a year ago? Was he truly not afraid of its contents, but had stolen it just so he could relive the horrors that Blake – and Cinder – endured? 

“What kind of photographs?”  Jaune demanded. 

“Look, newbie, we didn’t go through all of it.” Dove quickly snatched the envelope from Sky’s hand and shoved it back into his jacket, “We saw a couple of stuff and now we’re here. It’s called deniability.” 

Deniability. 

Blake tentatively placed a hand on  Jaune’s shoulder, squeezing a little as she circled around to stand beside him. He seemed nervous, fearing as if Blake had put herself in danger. But she watched the two boys in front of her, nondescript, unremarkable, menacing in their silence.

These boys must have known all about what Adam had done to her. They wouldn’t have stationed themselves outside of  CInder's home for nothing. They must have known. 

Blake wanted to hurl herself at them, to rip the envelope from their grasp, not wanting to even indulge in their desire to play a game of bait. They  could have put a stop to this long ago. They have turned a blind eye long enough. They were witnesses. They were responsible. They were just as horrible as Adam. 

“Why are you doing this?” Blake kept her voice even. 

The two boys didn’t turn away this time. Their eyes were on her, malicious as Adam’s, staring her down, watching her, threatening her with the  contemptible thoughts that reflected in their gaze. 

A part of her wanted to take a step back, to retreat behind  Jaune and let  **_ her  _ ** boys do the talking, to leave them to deal with this drama, but her mind was a force of its own and her dignity was violently screaming in her skull. If the memory card in these boys’ hands held a copy of her almost dying, then she would have to do everything she could to get it back. 

“What do you mean why are we doing this?” 

“She asked you a question.” Neptune raised his voice and stood taller than he was. 

Blake rolled her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. She took a little step backwards, finding comfort in the way  Jaune had subtly taken a little step forward. It was disconcerting to think about how this blonde boy in front of her was immensely different from the boy she had ran into at the Lambda House, the boy who made  _ menstruating  _ and  _ PMS  _ an excuse for his bad behavior. 

“Two weeks ago, we tried to get you to speak up about the fraternity.”  Jaune began, “And you said we were dumbasses for throwing it all away and standing toe to toe against Adam Taurus. You guys said that he was going to bury us and  you guys were getting it good if you did all the dirty work. What changed?”

“Did he threaten you too?” Blake felt like melting beneath Sky and Dove’s angry gazes. 

“Was he going to kick you guys out of the fraternity?” Neptune contributed. 

Sky and Dove looked at each other for a moment and glared at Neptune.  They were silent for a moment, eyes fixed on the Neptune.  Jaune turned to her, concern on his face and a question on the edge of his lips. She knew what he was going to ask and so she nodded and hoped that it would have been enough to get him to ignore her once more. 

“The fraternity’s not going to survive this.” Dove’s voice was soft, barely a whisper, “More than half of the brothers have either been kicked out or left. Adam’s pissed off, like, all the time and even Cardin’s left the fraternity.” 

Cardin Winchester, Adam’s right-hand man, the blindest of the all. Blake remembered him. He was the one who had traded blows with Yang Xiao Long the night of the Lambda party.

“What do you mean Cardin left?” Neptune intoned. 

Neptune really ought to shut the hell up or probably just ask the right questions. Today’s meeting had nothing to do with Cardin. This was between the stupid manila envelope in Dove’s jacket and however much money they wanted in exchange for the information inside. 

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard.” Sky said under his breath. 

“Look, we’ll trade you this memory card for some cash and if you guys keep us out of this.” 

Dove was an idiot – the worst kind of idiot at that: he was a violent, loud-mouthed idiot. Adam Taurus’ lackeys were way past the point of being  _ out of this. _ They were neck-deep in their president’s bullshit. They had been stalking Cinder for the past year, doing heaven-knows-what just to scare the girl from even trying to fight back. 

There was no way Blake was going to let them  _ out of this.  _

But there was also no way she was going to say  ** that. **

“Deal.” Blake said instead. 

Jaune was quick to turn and raise an eyebrow at her, mouth agape and lips trembling with his damned unspoken questions. Neptune, on the other hand, looked ready to take her aside and tell her she was making a huge mistake, his spit flying everywhere and his voice a pathetic excuse for a whisper. 

She didn’t like Neptune. Not a little bit. There was something about him that screamed  _ untrustworthy,  _ like the way he was always around. Maybe not around her. This was probably the second or third time that she had ever been near him, but his presence had always been a convenience. 

If Sun could hear her thoughts, he’d probably tell her off. Neptune was a good guy, he would say, he had gone out of his way multiple times to help Blake. She really should be grateful. Not to mention how he so valiantly played the part of lookout yesterday, and how he had saved them from being spotted by Sky and Dove. 

Neptune  Vasilias . 

What a hero. 

“Blake,” Neptune said through gritted teeth, “a word,  pl —”

“You have my word.” Blake stepped past  Jaune and moved just a little out of Neptune’s reach, closer to Sky and Dove who were just as surprised as the other boys, “If we find some photographs that would get you in trouble, we’ll remove them.” 

“And videos.” Sky quickly added. 

“If there are any.” Dove cleared his throat. 

“Hold on, Blake.”  Jaune tried to move closer to Blake, but had gotten pushed aside by Neptune. 

“We’re not making any deals just yet.” he said to her, glaring at her, nostrils flaring and teeth bared, “We need to prove that the information is anything useful. Unless Ms. Belladonna here is willing to shoulder the cost.”

Blake didn’t miss the way that their two guests suddenly shied away, mostly Dove. It seemed like quite an endearing sight if only she didn’t know their involvement in Adam’s revenge against Cinder. The two boys looked at each other then looked between her and Neptune. 

Money wasn’t entirely a problem... last week, when she had been blissfully unaware that Adam knew where she lived. Blake kept to herself twice as much, barely stepping out of her car or Coco’s place or Velvet’s. She had been dependent on her friends for a while and, without even knowing it, she’d been financially dependent on them too. She didn’t have any money on her at the moment. 

She had to think of something else. 

There were ATMs near the area. 

“Sure.” she said softly, “How much are we talking here?” 

“Ten K.” Sky didn’t miss a beat. 

Blake felt her heart drop.  Jaune and Neptune must have dropped their jaws too. 

“K?” Neptune stammered, “Like thousand? Ten thousand?” 

Sky and Dove nodded in unison. They were quite determined to get ten thousand lien in exchange for a measly memory card hidden inside an envelope with contents they claimed would help in their case against Adam. They could be lying. 

“Let’s be realistic here.”  Jaune moved towards the stairs that led back to the store front, “We don’t know what’s inside the envelope. Ten thousand is too much.” 

Sky and Dove looked impatient. Dove involuntarily took a step back, placing a hand over his pocket. It would seem like the boys were dead set on getting their ten thousand lien and Blake and her friends’ only options were to either cough up the cash or let them go. 

Blake chewed on her bottom lip. She had never been a gambling woman, neither was she trusting of people she had just met. Sky and Dove could be lying. They claim to have a memory card inside the envelope, but Blake hadn’t seen it nor the files inside of it. She didn’t even have ten thousand lien at the ready. 

Their guests must have noticed her uncertainty. They moved closer to each other, whispering as they turned around towards the dusty boxes by a corner. They could play at having the upper hand, but people who feared nothing wouldn’t even entertain hagglers. 

Jaune stood beside her, his elbow ghosting her jacket and his teeth grinding in his mouth, “This is a bad idea.” 

_ When had it ever been a good one?  _

“This was your idea.” Blake whispered back, accidentally biting her lip as she finished her sentence. 

“Neptune said they were here for a truce.” 

“They’re here for a way out.” Blake sucked on her fresh wound, eyeing Neptune from the corner of her view, “Obviously Neptune lied.” 

“What exactly are  ** you  ** looking for anyway?”  Jaune’s gaze was piercing, concerned, with a hint of irritation, “Who’s this Cinder person and why aren’t you working  ** with  ** us? We all want the same thing, don’t we?” 

“Adam Taurus behind bars, yes.” 

“So, why not join forces? We have a better chance of getting justice if we work together.” 

_ Justice.  _

_ Revenge?  _

_ A good night’s sleep?  _

Right now, all three of them took the same shape in her head. They had all been going about this legally anyway. Well, maybe except yesterday when she had had Sun break into Cinder’s home. That had been a moment of weakness for Blake, a moment that could completely jeopardize their entire cause. 

Now what about paying Sky and Dove for information? That seemed suspicious and expensive, but if they were all on the same page, nobody else would have to know that this afternoon had occurred. Except, they had asked to be erased from the incriminating photographs and videos. 

They were witnesses. They were responsible. They could have put a stop to this long before. 

Neptune pressed himself against  Jaune , his breath tickling Blake’s cheek, “If you don’t want this to get complicating real quick, you better just keep quiet, alright?”

“Excuse me?” 

“They’re lying to you.” Neptune hissed as quietly as his anger would allow, “Whatever is in this thing isn’t worth ten thousand lien, especially since we don’t even know what it contains. You heard what Cinder said yesterday, Adam went and smashed her camera. They can’t possibly have what you’re looking for.” 

She balled her hands into fists. Of course, she had the same doubts Neptune did. Her head kept warning her against what they were doing and she really didn’t need to hear it in his voice.  Neptune was beginning to  annoy her  – much more than usual. He was right, yes, but he would never know that night on  Barthel Hill, not as intimately as she did. He would never know how she had almost lost her mind just remembering the shouting, the screaming, the smell of gasoline.

It had taken her months, but she managed to convince herself that she deserved to be alive. Now, she wanted to live. She wanted to be free. 

“Calm down, Nep.”  Jaune whispered as he pushed Neptune a little further away from Blake, “No use fighting against each other. We have to work together.” 

“Maybe you could convince her to do just that.” Neptune huffed, giving Blake one last dirty look before he shuffled away from them, grumbling incoherent complaints. 

Blake wanted to push him out of the room, to get him to leave them all alone, but he had brought the boys here .  Though his plan wasn’t entirely well-thought-out, it was a lead, a sort of distraction while Coco and her cousin played at smuggling information, maybe even hacking. Blake never asked. 

“How about this?”  Jaune said aloud to all of them, “I bet Tina’s got a laptop upstairs. Why don’t I go and borrow that, plug the memory card in we’ll look at  ** one  ** file , then we can talk about money.” 

Jaune didn’t wait for a response. He turned on his heel and headed towards the door where Tina would most likely be, absently flipping through her magazine, completely unaware that there was an argument going on in the backroom. 

“No, wait!” 

Blake watched as Dove and Sky exchange worried looks.  That was disconcerting. 

“How about you give us a thousand lien and we give you the memory card.” Sky looked paler, his forehead glinting beneath the fluorescent light. 

“Show us the memory card.” Neptune demanded. 

Dove reached into his pocket and took the manila envelope out. He held it up in front of him, keeping a little bit of distance between himself and Blake. “Here.” 

But that wasn’t good enough, Blake thought. “Open it.” 

She held her breath as Dove rolled his eyes, casting another worried look at Sky before he tore the manila envelope open. He flipped it over, dropping the contents onto the floor in front of him. There was a small click, the sound of plastic hitting the ground.

Blake frowned at the  inch-long, black plastic in between them.  There was a faded sticker over the side she could see, with the brand name, the memory space and icons and figures she had no interest in at the moment.  It looked a little battered, a corner chipped and the sticker looked dirty, just like the one in Blake’s pocket. 

“We’re not idiots.” Dove growled, taking a small step forward, covering the memory card with the heel of his muddy sneakers. 

“We need to see what’s inside of it.”  Jaune said calmly behind Blake, “We just need to see one thing and we’ll consider paying you.” 

“Two hundred lien.” Neptune haggled. 

That was quite the leap in offer. A thousand down to two hundred? Blake stood in silence, observing the changes in Dove and Sky’s faces. They were so scared about  Jaune opening the files, as if that  _ thing  _ underneath Dove’s foot wasn’t even worth the initial ten thousand they had demanded. 

She thought of the memory card in her pocket, remembered how Yang had pressed it into her palm before she walked away. That had cost her nothing and, at the same time, almost everything. Two  hundred lien was a small fortune, chump change, actually, compared to yesterday’s exchange. Blake had nothing now, so she had nothing left to offer. 

“I change my mind.” Blake said softly, “You’re not going to show us what’s inside the card? Well, you might as well put it back where you took it.” 

Dove and Sky’s faces contorted into horror and confusion. Blake could feel Neptune glaring at her and  Jaune floundering about where he stood. 

They could be lying. No, they must definitely be lying. There were two of them, standing with sweat dripping from their scalps, praying for mercy and a way out of their guilt. Then there was the other three, caught in a bad spot, taunted  _ for months,  _ beaten, threatened, red and black and blue because of these two boys’ silence. 

They didn’t deserve the money and they didn’t deserve to  _ get out of this.  _ They were responsible. They were witnesses.  ** They  ** were going to pay. 

“Okay, okay  okay .” Sky squeezed Dove’s shoulder, leaning past him to speak to Blake, “How about we  ** don’t  ** talk about money? That sound good? ”

_ Still not good enough.  _

Blake sighed, embracing herself as she took a step back.  This entire ordeal was a lot more draining than she had anticipated and she subconsciously began to calculate how much she had slept versus how long she had been awake. She wanted to lie down. She wanted to go back to her apartment and sleep. For a moment, she wanted to stop this whole  _ “fight for freedom”  _ bullshit, pack her things and leave town. 

Cinder was not going to help. Yang was probably  going to  avoid her for good now. Neptune was being his old, regular dick-self. Sleeplessness wasn’t doing her any good, muddling her thoughts and making her feel like she even stood a chance against Adam Taurus and the millions of ways he could slip past his misdeeds. 

“Leave the memory card and get out of here.” Blake sighed. She didn’t know how long she could keep standing now. She wanted to pass out on the floor. 

“ No way, Jose.” Sky practically sang. 

Blake shot their guests a tired look, hoping that her face had said all she wanted to convey: she didn’t trust them. Not one bit.  Whatever Dove had beneath his shoe was worth nothing to her, most definitely not ten thousand lien or two hundred or even a moment of her concern. 

She wanted Adam Taurus behind bars, rotting in a jail cell while his entire family, and the entire campus, condemned him.  She cared little about the fate of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda fraternity, although she believed that there wouldn’t be one whether or not her fantasy of Adam’s imprisonment would come to fruition. She wanted to leave now. She wanted to see Yang. 

“We’ll give you the memory card.” Dove groaned, bending forward to pick the memory card up, “All we’ll ask is that you delete photos and videos of us – if there are any – and one last thing that  we know you can give.” 

Neptune scoffed, “And what the hell is that?” 

“Yang Xiao Long’s number.” Dove shrugged and grinned, his cheeks tinged pink as he looked between Neptune and Blake. 

“Dude.” Sky whispered, “You for real?” 

“ What?” Dove whispered back, “We’re all getting kicked in the nuts anyway. What’s a little fun before shit hits the fan? And it’s not like these two idiots are doing anything about it.” 

“We can hear you.” Neptune groaned. 

Blake rolled her eyes as Dove glared at Neptune, exaggerating his mouth movements as he repeated his last sentence. She  **_ was  _ ** an idiot, there was no denying that, but who was Dove Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is to say that she hadn’t done anything about it. 

She did. 

She had done everything to keep Yang from getting involved with whatever crap she was in. 

She had done everything to keep Adam away from her when that pathetic plan was shoved out the window. 

She had done everything for her. 

_ Shit.  _

Well, maybe she didn’t do  ** everything  ** for Yang. 

Truth be told, Blake did the things that she did for herself… but it was because of Yang, because she wanted to be just as free-spirited as her, to be so carefree and brave and strong and – Blake chuckled to herself – and so stubborn and sure.  She wanted to be just like Yang Xiao Long, but she could settle to being  ** with  ** her. 

“You’re a perverted dumbass!” 

Neptune practically threw himself forward, arms raised to strike at Dove who had quickly tucked the memory card into the pocket of his jeans. Sky had pulled Dove out of Neptune’s way and  Jaune had lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Neptune as he tried to pull him back. 

“Oh,  ** I’m  ** the pervert?” Dove snickered despite Sky’s demands that he keep quiet , “Watch your mouth, you sissy  nark.” 

Blake could feel her soul rising from her tired body.  She really didn’t want to get caught in the middle of a scuffle, in this crowded room underneath a store that smelled like socks. She rubbed the back of her neck, grimacing as she felt the crick in her neck. 

She was not in the mood for this. 

“You stay away from her, you hear me?” Neptune practically screeched. 

She bit her lip and slipped her hands into her pockets. 

Yang. She thought of Yang. She thought of the night of the party, how complacent she had seemed about inflicting pain on somebody else, but really, she was just truly... tired. 

This must have been what the girl felt most of the time. Yang somehow felt softer, warmer, friendlier – if the very few times that they had even actually talked to each other was any indication – yet Blake had no difficulty thinking of her as otherwise. 

Perhaps rumors and hearsay would never get anything right. Yang was a violent tease, according to some random kids around campus, and Adam Taurus was a kind gentleman. She didn’t even dare wonder what the rumors were saying about her, but she did question where rumors about Yang come from. Where did the lies begin and the truth end? 

But what did Blake truly know anyway? All she had was hope and the feeling in her chest when she thought of Yang. She did want to know and she would know more, if Yang would let her, even after all that’s happened and what was still surely going to happen. 

What was happening right now though, was an entirely different thing and Blake needed to be smart, just long enough to solve her current problem: sleeplessness. She had to get Sky and Dove out of here, check what’s inside both of the memory cards and probably ask to sleep at Coco’s or Velvet’s place. 

She could let the men fight a little bit longer. Dove and  Jaune looked like they could keep the peace for quite some time anyway. She pressed a few icons, swiped and scrolled until she had found what she was looking for. 

“I’ll give you Yang Xiao Long’s number.” Blake declared, holding her Scroll up to show Yang’s name  and number. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Neptune cried. 

Blake ignored him. She looked to  Jaune , hoping he would pull Neptune aside as she moved closer to Dove. The boy kept his eyes between Blake’s Scroll and her other hand, subconsciously squeezing the pocket where the memory card should be. 

“Give me the memory card.” Blake whispered as she held her palm out to him. 

Sky looked over Dove’s shoulder and gaped at Blake, “Is that legit?” 

“Yes.” Blake shook her open palm and pointedly glanced at it, “the memory card?” 

“Save it, Sky.” Dove frowned at her. He made no move to retrieve the memory card, glancing between Blake’s Scroll and Sky fumbling about for his Scroll. 

Blake mentally prepared herself for Neptune’s verbal onslaught against her afterwards, feeling his burning glare at the back of her head. If she wasn’t feeling as if she would pass out, she would have laughed, remembering the far and few rumors that she had heard about herself – rumors that were somewhat true, as she had declared before: that Blake Belladonna was a bitch with a heart made of polished rust. 

There was no point fighting that now. 

“Got it.” Sky cheered, flashing the screen of his Scroll in Dove’s direction. 

“Hand it over.” Blake measured her words. 

The silence was stifling, coupled with the evil looks on these boys’ faces. She could hear Neptune’s voice in her head now, telling her how she had just sold Yang out for nothing.  Jaune would be equally disappointed, but maybe he wouldn’t be so unkind. 

Still, she waited. 

She was a stone-cold bitch through and through. She was afraid of a thousand things, but right now, she had no energy to run and hide. 

Dove said nothing. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and gently placed the memory card into Blake’s palm. He emptied his pockets in a show of good faith, which was quickly diminished by his whispered invitation for her to pat him down. She grimaced as the two of them passed her, planning out what they would do with Yang’s number. 

Blake felt dirty and ashamed, but she really needed to get some sleep. Her grip around the memory card was tight, letting the edges press against her skin. 

As soon as the door closed behind Sky and Dove, Neptune launched into a series of profanities and judgment of her actions. He had asked her, about five times in the last two minutes, if she knew what she was doing. Of course, she didn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to come up with a better idea in between the migraine from listening to them bicker and keeping herself awake a little bit longer. 

But he didn’t need to know that. 

“What the hell was that for?” Neptune asked tersely. Blake almost flinched with the suddenness of his movements. 

“It was either that or paying him with a  blackeye .” she sighed, running her thumb over the surface of the memory card. 

“You just gave those creeps Yang’s number.” Blake flinched again when he gestured towards the door, “Just like, you gave him her number as if it was even yours to give. Do you not even care about her at all?” 

Blake gritted her teeth, clenched the memory card already in her hand while the other reached into her pocket to retrieve the one Yang had given her yesterday. 

The day was just going to get longer and longer. Neptune was erratic, near-violent.  Jaune wasn’t helping with the way he stood to the side, looking between them and wondering whether he should do something or let Blake and Neptune argue. 

“Look, Neptune,” Blake stifled a yawn, “we needed to buy ourselves some time. You said it yourself, we couldn’t trust them. Who’s to say they wouldn’t tell Adam what they did? At least my plan didn’t cost us anything.” 

“You gave them Yang’s number!” Neptune sounded hysterical, he looked as if he couldn’t believe what Blake was saying, like she was crazy. 

She might be. 

“You gave them Yang’s number,” he repeated softly, gently, “for what, Blake? You don’t even know what’s inside that  **_ thing _ ** . It could be a bunch of porn videos or cat pictures. Who the fuck even knows?” 

Blake bit her tongue and glared at him. Neptune  Vasilias stood a head taller than her, looking at her with equal contempt. She cast a quick look at Jaune and wished he would interfere, but the blonde was busy wondering what he should do at the moment. Who was right? Who was wrong? Who should he console and who should he kick out? 

It should be Neptune. Not her. 

She clutched her Scroll, hurriedly unlocking the device with a grunt and flashing it on his face. On any other day, she would have been ashamed to even have it on her  search history, but she ran out of ideas and giving a number that didn’t work would raise alarms. 

“Local Sexy Vale Girls?” Neptune visibly blushed. 

Blake did the same, remembering the images of women in various  states of undress and intricate positions next to simpler, more straightforward ones. There  were other people in the photos and there were other props too, all behind the flashing  _ Click Here  _ button. 

“I’m not as stupid as you think I am.” Blake quickly slipped her Scroll back into her pocket, making a mental note to purge her search history after a good night’s rest, “They’ll probably prefer it over Yang’s number.” 

Before Neptune could even think to respond, Blake turned to Jaune, presenting to him the memory card that Dove had surrendered to her. He gingerly took it off of her hands, turning it over to inspect the little piece of plastic. 

“You mentioned you had a laptop that can read this?” Blake shoved her hand into her pocket to search for the memory card Yang had given her. 

“Yeah, I think Tina brought it with her.” Jaune blinked in surprise. 

“Can you ask her if we could borrow it?” Blake held  _ her  _ memory card up and gently placed it into Jaune’s palm with something she thought would pass as a smile, “ I really don’t have the energy to talk to her right now.” 

Blake sat herself down on one of the vacant chairs while Jaune rushed back to the store front. Neptune kept quiet and busied himself with his Scroll. Blake couldn’t help but think that he was talking with Yang. He was texting with her the entire afternoon yesterday, probably worming his way back to her good graces. 

That wasn’t an impossible feat.  A lot can happen in a year; perspectives shift and feelings start to make more sense. Given all that’s happened in the last two weeks, maybe Yang had grown tired of  _ cool, calm and collected  _ Blake. Maybe she wanted funny, warm and a colorful mess. 

Neptune didn’t seem like it though. But she had to admit to herself that, despite his dislike of her, he was quite charming in his own ways. Ever-present.

She couldn’t help but look at him out of the corner of her eye, frowning at his Scroll as he furiously tapped on the screen. Something was wrong, Blake thought, wondering if he had said something wrong to whoever he was chatting with. She hoped it was Yang.

Something was wrong with him too. She couldn’t quite place it, but he was a little bit more antagonistic than he had always been with her. She and Neptune had been around each other because of Sun several times before, but all he had ever done was burn her in his mind. All he had ever done was watch her.

Finally, Neptune tore his eyes off of his Scroll, casting her a half-confused, half-irritated look – like he always did. A shiver ran down her spine, but a voice in her head whispered that he would never lay a hand on her. 

“How is she?” she almost spat out in contempt. 

He quirked a brow and frowned, pressing his Scroll close to his chest.

Blake cleared her throat, forcing herself to say her name before her false courage crumbled to dust, “Yang. How is she?” 

“ She’s royally pissed ” he grumbled, looking at his Scroll. 

She leaned forward and gritted her teeth. Something was definitely wrong with him. She had never felt like throwing a damn chair at him before now , but before she could even think about acting on her impatience, the door opened as Jaune stomped back down with a simple laptop under his arm. 

The laptop was pretty slow to boot up. Blake and Neptune found themselves looking over Jaune’s shoulders as he drummed his fingers near the laptop’s touchpad. She set her annoyance aside, asking Jaune to check the memory card she gave him first despite Neptune’s protests. 

She had no time to explain. Whatever was inside it had kept her up all night, wondering why it came into Yang’s possession and why she had decided to hand it over to Blake. Yang must have looked at the files, Blake thought, frowning as Jaune fumbled with the laptop’s card slot. 

Blake could feel her stomach growling from hunger and bile rising to her throat. She felt lightheaded standing over Jaune, reading the little notification from the laptop’s operating system, saying that it detected the memory card. 

“What’s in this thing anyway?” Jaune mumbled as he opened the folder. 

Video files. 

Dozens of them. 

“A hundred and sixty-three files.” Jaune announced. 

“Well, open one.” Neptune’s voice hitched. 

“Yeah, which one?” 

“Just pick one.” 

The screen went black. Blake would have thought that Tina’s computer was busted, but there was the soft sound of the wind howling, distant chattering, several clicks and a voice that belonged to Cinder. 

Blake was frozen in place, her heart hammering in her chest until it stopped and started again. It was beginning to feel hot in the room and she felt as if there was ash swirling in her lungs. She thought back to the night at Barthel Hill, Cinder’s taunts and her eventual beating...  **_ their  _ ** _ eventual beating.  _

Her hands tightened into fists, her nails digging into the palms of her hand. Her neck was beginning to feel slick and her hair clung to her forehead. 

She wasn’t prepared for this. It was bad enough to have lived through it, but to see it again? To feel like a ghost watching the last moments of her life? 

“ _ Look what we have here.”  _ Cinder’s voice continued as the other sounds had gotten louder, the camera snapping into place on top of a table. 

The room was bright, daylight and busy – it was in the cafeteria. 

_ This isn’t that night.  _

_ “Dust,”  _ Cinder sighed, “ _ what a fucking piece of trash.”  _

But that was Blake, sitting between  Yatsuhashi and Velvet as Fox and Coco launched into an argument the camera could almost pick up. Her hair had been shorter then, flatter. All mercy and pity she had felt for Cinder  were briefly forgotten, listening to Adam’s psycho girlfriend complaining about her. 

“ _ You like that, don’t you, Adam?”  _ Cinder muttered, “ _ You definitely have a type, you fucking prick.”  _

“Is she really talking to herself?” Jaune turned to Blake, his breath brushing against her cheek. 

“Obviously.” Neptune grumbled, leaning forward as he gently nudged Jaune aside. 

Neptune closed the video and inspected the other ones in the folder. He scrolled down a little, randomly clicking on another. They waited for the video to play as Jaune fiddled with the keys, to turn the volume up. 

The next eight videos they played were just Cinder talking to herself – more specifically, to Adam – insulting Blake and documenting her habits. Blake suddenly felt naked, afraid. Ashamed. 

Had Yang seen this? 

Neptune grew impatient with each clip of Blake and her boring life being scrutinized by a woman who had already been planning her kidnapping at some point. Whenever the video would start and Blake came into view, he would immediately close it, whether out of concern for her or the fact that it would be the same toxicity in a different angle, Blake didn’t know. 

“This girl was  ** obsessed  ** with you.” Jaune declared, reaching over to take over the touchpad from a fuming Neptune. 

“Can we check the other memory card now?” Neptune impatiently  scratched his neck. 

“Last one.” 

Jaune picked video one-hundred-fifty-nine. Cinder quickly came into view, fixing her hair as she subtly set the camera aside. Blake’s blood ran cold as she heard the voice of Adam Taurus in the background, cursing and arguing with someone out of the camera’s view. 

_ “I don’t care who her family is.”  _ he fumed, “ _ I don’t care if they took a shit in your morning coffee. Your problem with her and her family isn’t mine... She’s not a threat! She won’t be – I – alright. I’ll keep an eye out for her... Yeah, stuck-up bitch like her? I doubt she has any friends... Hello? Hello?”  _

Something crashed and sounded as if it cracked. Cinder flinched, panic in her eyes as she fixed them towards where Adam must be. 

_ ”Yeah _ _ , run back to your gold _ _ - _ _ digging bimbo, you useless piece of shit!”  _

Stuck-up bitch? That sounded like a nickname Blake would have been given, but to hear it from Adam himself? The man was a self-absorbed lunatic and it was highly possible that Adam would call her a bitch, but stuck-up? 

“ _ Babe, get the fuck out.”  _ Adam shouted, “ _ And that shit camera of yours better be turned off.”  _

_ “Calm the fuck down, Adam.”  _ Cinder’s voice was shaking despite her flirty pout, “ _ Baby, what was he talking about this time?” _

_ “None of your damn business.”  _

_ “ _ _ So, _ _ can we please go out instead? You haven’t taken me out to dinner in weeks.”  _

_ “Here.”  _ Cinder grabbed her camera, two of her fingers obscuring most of the view as the sound of rustling paper got louder, “ _ Go buy yourself something to eat then. And call Cardin on your way out.”  _

“Who are they talking about?” Jaune whispered beside Blake. 

“Can we please check the other memory card now?” Neptune’s voice rose. 

Blake openly stared at him, mouth agape as she watched the way he practically shoved Jaune towards her. Without thinking too much of it, she wrapped her hands around his wrist, keeping him from switching the memory cards. 

Something was definitely wrong with him.

“Jaune?” Blake said softly, eyes still locked onto Neptune’s nervous face, “Play the next video.” 

Blake silenced the voices in her head, demanding that she run away. Her eyelids were getting heavier by the minute and she wasn’t sure if Jaune had even heard her request, or if Neptune looked as if he would throttle her or hide away himself. 

Neptune jerked his hand forward, squirming his wrist from Blake’s grip, but all these months of irritation and distaste of Neptune had left her with an extraordinary amount of rage to keep him in place. But the rage quickly drained whatever energy she had left. 

She blinked back the exhaustion, trying to figure out a way to get hers and Neptune’s joined hands out of Jaune’s way. Gingerly, the blonde moved both his hands beneath Blake’s and Neptune’s, closed the current video and played video  one-hundred- sixty . 

He quickly closed it when  it was clear that it would be another video of Blake. He played video  one-hundred-sixty -one, a dark and grainy video of what appeared to be a bedroom and a half-naked Cinder coming into view. Jaune quickly closed that one and clicked on video  one-hundred-sixty -two. 

Neptune stopped struggling at this point, extricating himself from Blake’s grasp as her hands fell over the touchpad and Jaune’s fingers. The video kept playing, a video of Cinder’s chin and Adam’s voice in the background. Cinder unceremoniously tipped her camera over, a canted angle of Adam at his desk, Cardin standing beside him and a haggard-looking Neptune sitting across from them. 

“ _ Hi, Cardin.”  _ Neptune nervously said, “ _ Hi, Mr. Taurus, sir.”  _

_ “Call me Adam.”  _

_ “Uh... Adam, s-sir... Is there anything I can do f—”  _

_ “We’ve got an assignment for you.”  _ Cardin scoffed, smirking as he looked Neptune from head to toe,  _ “We’ll need you to move to a different solicitation route with the new guy.”  _

_ “The new guy?”  _

“Stop it!” Neptune sighed beside them. 

“ _ Sun  _ _ Wukong _ _.”  _ Adam said matter-of-factly, a slimy smirk on his face, “ _ Blonde guy, barely keeps a shirt on. He smells weird.”  _

_ “Oh... okay.”  _

“I can explain.” Neptune almost sobbed, his hand clapping over Jaune’s shoulder as he tried to shake both him and Blake to look at him. 

“ _ Speaking of blondes...”  _ Adam continued, “ _ I heard you went on a date with a girl named  _ _ Yang Xiao Long.”  _


	24. Jumping in the Dark

_ This is too freaky.  _

The rain poured all around, on her skin, on a hollow metal surface, dripping from the scalp of her head to her chin. T he chill seeped into her clothes and down to her bones. But the smell of the rain was strangely comforting. 

Liberating. 

It was still odd, but it was a welcome break from the worrying and the stress and helplessness. 

Odder still that it sounded as if she were listening to a cheap pair of earphones, or an amphitheater made of cardboard. Impractical, if you asked her, but what did she know about sound. She was just satisfied with clear or crappy and this?

This was crappy. 

“My neck…” she groaned as she felt the pain spread from her chest and to the tips of her fingers. 

She  placed her hands over the damned thing pressing against her breast, skeevy little thing really, surprised that it was slightly cold to the touch and extremely damp. Her head was throbbing like crazy, her neck felt like it was going to snap soon – don’t even get her started on her back. 

Still, she managed to get herself to her feet, eyes still blurry, but she opened them and it was still blurry. 

How disappointing. 

_ Sweet.  _

Of course, that was to be expected of the storm, but she could still see her hands if she raised them about a foot away from her face.

Scratches and bruises. 

Nothing to write home about. 

The same couldn’t be said for the cold, damp skeevy thing – the hatchback’s console – junk. Dead junk. It might fetch a little bit of money if she decided to sell it for scraps, but at this point, it was more work than it was worth. 

She looked around, through the grey curtain of misfortune and reckless driving, tried to find another not-dead person or thing. A big grey rock caught her eye. No, it wasn’t a rock. It was metal. It was just as dead as her dear old hatchback. 

May the old girl rest in peace and in pieces. 

_ Fuck.  _

The big grey metal-rock seemed to be purring. And smoking! Soft clouds of grey rose to the sky and disappeared into the grey of the storm. 

“Fuck!” 

She recognized that voice. She had heard it before. Maybe not as much as one would think, but that voice was pretty distinct in her book and really got under her skin. 

The rock jostled a little before it churned out a muscly dude all covered in black, from his muscly toes to his muscly cowlick. He hobbled closer and clutched at his arm and grunted with every step he took. And one would really think that when the muscly dude would step right into what the storm had allowed her to see, she would discern the said muscly dude. 

But he was just this black blob-thing in the shape of a muscly dude and with an annoying voice. 

“Fuck!” he – it(?) repeated. 

Blob man – and she was just guessing here since he was, you know, a  **_ blob _ ** but with muscles  – was looking right at her and he seemed – still, she was totally just guessing – distraught. Scared. Understandable feelings, yes, but he seemed pretty hysterical.  As if he killed someone. 

She was standing right in front of him. 

Yang Xiao Long in all her disappointing glory. 

Muscly blob dude jogged past her, ran straight to her dead loyal steed and studied the wreckage.  The side facing her was a complete mess; deep dents in the collision points and the passenger’s side door was janky and twisted. There was no way in Remnant that was going to close properly again. 

The worst of the damage was the  hood – now, two of it. The front fender was torn completely off, lying somewhere that she didn’t bother trying to look at. Even as the winds were being a little bit more considerate and howled softer than before, and the thick grey curtain was becoming less thick, her vision was still utter crap and – oh look! There was  a Drive Slowly sign. 

Muscly blob dude paced around the corpse of the late great hatchback, his hands digging into his muscly scalp . He groaned like a motorboat and Yang really wished he would just shut up. He stopped as he reached the driver’s seat and yanked the door open. 

“Dude!” she shouted, “Not cool!” 

He bent down into the driver’s seat, arms stretched in front of him and – this was really just so freaky – he waltzed, by himself, from the driver’s door and over to the dirt, stones and dead grass a few steps behind him. 

“What the hell, weirdo?” 

_ Bark. Bark.  _

There was something warm that clamped itself around Yang’s hand. Really warm. Like, really, really warm. It’s the same kind of warm that could make you really sleepy. 

Muscly blob man temporarily forgotten, Yang turned around to this warm feeling and locked eyes with… well, this was awkward… she  ** should  ** know, but she was too confused to not admit that she didn’t know… but she was sure she was looking right into the big brown eyes of a dog. 

Inner strength be damned though. 

Yang crouched down and reached out to pet him with her free hand, to goad him into letting her go because she really needed that hand to stop Muscly blob man from slow dancing and help her find a way back to Vale. 

The little pat on the head must have worked for the dog released her from his little mouth-grip and all  of sudden , the cold came rushing back throughout her body. 

_ This  _ **_ was  _ ** _ really, really freaky.  _

"You take the back, I’ll cover the front entrance.” a woman’s voice said. 

Yang didn’t bother to look behind her. She pressed herself closer to the damp wall, ears perked to catch any sound of movement coming from the abandoned building before her. The perp, a 35-year-old ex-construction worker turned full-time felon had been holed up here for a couple of days now. He was beginning to get impatient and paranoid after the failed jewelry heist. The 5.8 million-lien bagel was safely hidden inside the coffee shop’s closet vault. 

But the president had been calling the precinct non-stop, demanding that the perp be taken in for questioning and charged with grand theft auto and kidnapping a cheese stick. 

The stakes were high and Commander Xiao Long’s career was on the line. 

When the woman gently nudged her, Yang propelled herself forward, so fast that she practically phased through the wall, coming face to face with the slimy-looking alien they had been looking for, towering over her with a  bident over its shoulder. 

“Drop your weapons!” Yang clicked the safety of her water gun off and aimed it at the perp. 

_ Don’t wound if you can subdue.  _

A bone-chilling quack echoed in the room and Commander Xiao Long watched in horror as her fingers melted away from her standard-issue firearm. She opened he mouth to scream, but no sound had come out. 

The alien raised the  bident to her face and quacked one last time. In one quick motion, the  bident smacked her in the forehead and Commander Xiao Long was standing by herself in the middle of a corn field, the rain soaking into her worn out uniform. 

Yang found her voice. She screamed, demanding to know where she was, but the wind had only howled in response; the rain grew thicker and fell harder against her skin. For a moment, Yang had been deafened by the pitter-patter of the storm, until she had heard the smooth sound of a synthesizer approaching. She turned to face the sound watched as the thick gray clouds parted in the wake of a smiling dog, a tiny brown bag in its mouth, bouncing towards her. 

The dog stopped a foot or two in front of her and so did the trail of sunshine. Yang approached to get herself out the rain, to bask in the warmth that engulfed the dog, but the creature jumped out her reach, taking the warm sun with it. It held its nose out and nodded, waiting for Yang to reach out once more, but only to take the bag from its mouth. 

Tentatively, Yang obliged, delighted by the brief heat that licked at her fingers. 

The dog suddenly turned away, satisfied that it had done its job and sped back to where it had come from. The sunshine was gone and Yang was left shivering in her own misery, a heavy bag in her hands. She opened it a little, to get a glimpse of what was inside. She smiled when she saw a bunch of chicken nuggets deep inside. She raised one piece up to her face, disregarding the strong whipping of the winds and popped it into her mouth. It was surprisingly dry and tasted like peanut butter. 

She ate another, then another, and then another, and another, savoring the taste as she closed her eyes shut from contentment. She hadn't realized that she had been hungry for a while and, now that she had thought about it, she was parched. 

Yang opened her eyes once more and could no longer find the bag. She looked around her and found that she was now sitting on a small tree stump in the middle of a clearing. She looked up at the clouds that floated in front of her, at trees that stood high and still. She looked around and around and around until her eyes fell onto a wooden house made of oversized matchsticks in the distance. Storm clouds had gathered above the roof, but the rains didn't fall and Yang had been thankful for that. 

She looked into the windows from where she sat. She could barely make out the shape of a woman in one of them. Yang closed her eyes once more and she rubbed at them. When she forced her eyes back open, she squinted to try and get a better look at this woman. 

The woman stared right back at her, unflinching and unapologetic. There was something so familiar with the curve of her lips, the shape of her jaw and the lilac of her eyes. Her blonde hair was a mess, sticking here and there and almost covered her eyes. Yang wasn't smiling. 

"Don't turn around." A voice whispered. 

Yang felt a shiver run down her spine. Before she knew it, she was in a dark movie theater. There was a light coming from a small window high up on the wall behind her. The projector. It was bright and humming. She faced the wall of light, watching as an old-timey countdown played on the silver screen. 




Light burst into the room and the countdown had disappeared. A door opened form the back and Yang shot up from her seat to take a look at the silhouette of a man, his arms folded across his chest as he stared ahead. Yang looked around at the seats, saw hundreds of silhouettes with their heads turned towards her, watching her, waiting for her to  **_ say _ ** something. 

Something warm crawled around her foot. She looked down, just wanting a second to be free from this horrible  **_ nightmare _ ** , but she calmed when she saw the same dog with the sunlight and the bag, napping peacefully on top of her well-worn sneakers. 

It looked up at her as she bent down to pet it, the smell of wet grass pervading her senses. It stared back at her for a moment, deep brown eyes perked at her touch, craving for more of it. It yawned, sneezed and whispered. "They have really good ramen. You'll probably want to live there for a week."

"Blue is an okay color." Yang squeaked. 

"Do you want me to save you some bread?" The dog closed its eyes and pressed its side against Yang's leg. 

"Moon  zoomy ." 

She closed her eyes, lowered herself to curl up around the dog, cradling it close and finally feeling its warmth seep into the front of her shirt. She could hear the sound of the storm winds approaching. She opened her eyes to see how close they truly were, but she was met with a white wall and a single window. The sky was blue on the outside and sun was shining brightly despite the thick clouds that surrounded it. 

The dog was gone from her arms and Yang could still feel the comforting warmth spread across her arms. Yang's eyes twitched. 

She pushed herself up to sit, to get a better view outside the window. Instead, she found herself floating in the middle of a pond, her face just above the surface while the rest of her was submerged. There were silhouettes  — empty faces pointing at her, chanting. 

**_ "Cockamamie. Cockamamie. Driftwood. Cockamamie. You softly leave. Cockamamie. How are you, Yang?" _ **

She pushed herself out of the water, out of the pond. A hand reached out to help her. When Yang wrapped her hand around it, she was surprised that it was cold and metallic and heavy. She looked at her hand and saw a pink microphone with a gray fuzzy foam. 

She stood straight, feeling the weight of the pond water fall away from her, pooling at her feet until it vanished into thin air. She caught sight of her wardrobe: a shiny lilac tailcoat tuxedo and lime green oxford shoes. 

**_ "The number you have dialed is unattended."  _ **

Yang whirled around to see  Jaune beaming at her, his hands twiddling with a pair of drumsticks as he awkwardly sat behind a bright red drum kit. Ren stood to the side, fingers firmly arched over an electronic keyboard. He looked between Yang and  Jaune and finally to a fourth person behind Yang. Nora was chewing gum, swinging her guitar around like a baseball bat. 

**_ "Call the police." _ **

Yang turned again and she was really beginning to feel dizzy. She looked into the darkness. She heard the slight whispers that grew louder and louder until they began to sound like a round of applause. An  eye cracked open, followed by another and another and another and another and another until Yang was staring at a sea of floating eyeballs. 

She focused on a single pair of golden eyes, right in front of her, boring holes into her soul until Yang could feel her insides jiggle about. It was as if a spotlight had been shone on the eyes and Yang could finally make out Blake, flanked by Coco Adel and Velvet. They were silent and stoic. They wore matching pink bathrobes, their left hands in the air while their right hands held up a piece of paper. On each paper was a single letter written in bold green and, collectively, it spelled the word "RUN". 

**_ "We’re living in a world of fools." _ **

Yang bit her lip and nervously raised an arm. As her fingers strummed the guitar, a car horn blared from a nearby amplifier, the feedback only bothering her. She was panicking. Ren,  Jaune and Nora began playing as well, but the sounds their instruments made were just car horns, multiplying and growing stronger, deafening and Yang — Yang was the only one who could hear it. 

She watched as Blake stood from her seat, threw the paper with the letter U on it and planted herself right in front of Yang. They stood face to face with each other, her face still a frozen expression of disinterest. 

"You may not think that I care for you." Blake whispered. 

This Blake pulled the guitar off of her, ran her hand over Yang's chest and fixed her golden eyes on hers. 

"The universe made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of love. Did you ever think about that?" Her voice was low, close to seductive and Yang could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. 

Before Yang could have a moment to breathe, this Blake kissed her square on the lips, pushing her backwards until they fell into the dirt. The rain was falling in slow motion around them and it felt...  **_ holy crap.  _ ** Yang had forgotten how amazing kissing felt. 

How can lips be so soft? 

Nope. 

How can people live and  _ not  _ kiss every minute? 

This feels...

This Blake pushed herself off of Yang, hands splayed out over her chest as she sat over Yang's hips. She stared down at poor, helpless Commander Yang Xiao Long with deep golden eyes. And Yang felt warm here, despite the chill of the wind and the rainwater that had seeped into her shirt and socks and shoes. 

This Blake raised muddy fingers to Yang's cheek, caressing her skin. Yang didn't mind. Not one bit. This Blake's hand left a trail of mud from her cheek down to her jaw, down to Yang's neck and rested on top of her chest once more, over her beating heart. 

"It's either me or you, right?" This Blake smiled. 

Yang's eyes widened in shock. 

_ That was Ruby's voice! _

Ruby — no, this was This Blake — but, dust, that was Ruby's voice, "You deserve nice things." 

Yang barely felt as This Blake pulled her hand away, but she did feel how she buried it right into Yang's chest. She grabbed This Blake's wrists, trying to pull the girl off of her, to get her hand out of her — and why was her hand inside of her chest? — but This Blake had pushed herself deeper. Her warm muddy fingers wrapped around Yang's heart as it skipped beat after pitiful beat. 

The rain poured heavily against her. She could hear or see nothing else. Oh, but Yang could still feel and she felt the warmth of This Blake's hand. Yang tried to look at where  _ she  _ should be — at, maybe, where Ruby  ** might  ** be — but the dog had returned, hot breaths tickling Yang's chin and nose, brown eyes wide and quite delighted to see Yang. 

"It's going to be okay, Yang." The dog lay on top of Yang, its fur dry and warm while Yang was soaked through and through. The words sounded so hollow, so meaningless, like an echo after shouting into the void, "I still love you." 

She closed her eyes and lay still. The warmth in her chest was spreading like wildfire, to her arms, her fingertips, her neck, her cheek, her knees and her ankle. 

_ This was home now.  _

Her head felt heavy, like a bucket of water was tied to her ponytail and she couldn’t find the strength to lift her head. She was just glad that it was soft though, but the smell was strong – not pungent, just nauseatingly strong. 

She slowly opened her eyes and stared right into the light bulb that illuminated the stark white of the ceiling. It was cold here, not quite as dangerously as that of the open air, but of being locked in a freezer . 

Yang blinked over and over as the dread of confusion began to settle, but her eyes were still heavy, her head was still pounding and there were aches all across her body. Her breathing was shallow, but Yang Xiao Long felt at peace despite everything. 

A searing pain shot through her side as she tried to push herself up. When her head fell back a little, she could hear ringing in her ears and her throat constricting. She reached for her chest, to  push past her lungs and grip her racing heart  as if she physically could . 

She frowned. 

Her arm was covered in bandages and there were band aids spread all over the backs of her hands.  She felt an itch around her wrists; more bandages and bruises and scratches on her fingers. Her neck was partially covered in gauze wire, irritating her skin. 

She closed her eyes and touched her cheek with her heavy arm; her cheek felt like it was on fire.  There was a pounding in her head, ringing in her ears as her body began to fall limp over the near-softness of the mattress. 

She fought the urge to fall asleep again. This place smelled like a hospital, but why was no one here? The room was stark white, punctuated only by the  tealness of the curtains by the glass window and the light blue of the thin blanket over her legs. She craned her neck a little, hoping to see where she could possibly be, but there was only the gloomy sky and a horizon her body wouldn’t allow her to see. 

She stared up at the ceiling instead, noting the discoloration and the little cracks of the paint to keep her awake. She would focus on the fluorescent bulb at times and if she was desperate, Yang would move an inch or two, feeling her skin pull itself apart just to stay conscious. 

What day was it? 

She remembered being in her car, feeling the slickness of her skin as she drove through the storm. She remembered the dog – or... She didn’t crash because of a dog. Ruby was there and... No, Ruby wasn’t there. That was the problem. Ruby left. 

Yang tried to get up again. There was bound to be a nurse call button around here somewhere, but her head was heavy and her neck felt like it was one small movement away from breaking, her skin, feeling almost as flimsy as the hospital gown someone must have put on her, pulling apart as she tried to sit up to no avail. 

Ruby left and Yang could feel the air catch in her chest. She could hear Ruby’s voice, clear as day, whispering in her ears. She had left. Yang clamped her eyes shut. There were sounds of horns honking in the background. Ruby had gone to the bus station. 

Yang’s mind wandered back to her dreams, the way That Blake had looked at her, how the kiss felt so real. 

_ Focus.  _

Ruby had called her to say goodbye that afternoon. Weiss called her to say that Ruby had left. Yang could feel a tightening in her throat and her head getting heavier with each passing thought, each passing memory of her fading dream. 

Yang wanted to scream. 

Why couldn’t she remember anything useful? Why couldn’t she stop hearing Ruby’s voice and the damned rain falling over the roof of her car. 

She was feeling sleepy again. 

Yang raised her  left arm, the one that didn’t look too worse for wear than the other,  right over the slow and thunderous beating in her chest. She let her limb go limp, flopping down on her as pain spread across her chest upon contact. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder in a matter of seconds and Yang could feel the exhaustion ebb away. 

She bit the inside of her lip and tried to muffle a groan. Her throat felt dry, an unquenchable thirst that lingered behind the moisture that pooled behind her eyes. 

“Oh, my.” a soft voice echoed from one corner. 

Yang looked over to see a smallish woman staring at her with mild surprise and fascination. She appeared to be a nurse, clutching a small black bag under one arm while she pocketed a wristwatch with the other. 

“You’re awake.” the woman said softly, awoken from her own daze as she slowly approached Yang. Her brown eyes were still filled with concern and wonder which immediately turned into panic the moment Yang had tried to push herself up, “Please lay still.”

“Where am I?” Yang almost sobbed. She cleared her throat and tried to moisten her parched throat. 

“ You’re in Saint Valerie’s.” the nurse began patiently. 

After a quick call to the nurse’s station, the small woman that stood beside her bed ran through the motions; checking her heart rate, her breathing, her reflexes – all the while explaining to her how she had gotten here. 

Yang Xiao Long had arrived at Saint Valerie’s Hospital on Thursday night, when the worst of the storm had passed and a family of three had come across a vehicular  collision twenty minutes outside of Vale. The family quickly called emergency services, even before spotting the unconscious girl draped over  her car’s steering wheel. 

The nurse had informed Yang of her injuries, things she had already felt when she had tried to stand up earlier; bruising along most of her chest area, a minor concussion and neck pains. The small cuts along her chest, cheeks and arms were from when a great portion of her windshield had shattered upon impact, pressing onto her skin as soon as her airbag had deployed.

The explanation must have taken some time, the sky darkening with each injury that the nurse had detailed. Yang felt unsure of it all, although about what, she didn’t know either. 

She didn’t hear the door open, but Yang did notice how the nurse slightly jumped when an older man walked into the room. Greying hair, strong chin – he was quite charming despite his lanky frame and hunched back. 

Yang watched as the nurse moved closer to the man, introducing him as Dr. Hammond before the two of them retreated into hushed whispers. Yang had expected her doctor to be in a scrub suit or a lab coat, but the man was in a green tartan shirt and jeans. She had expected him to carry a clipboard or a stethoscope, but Dr. Hammond clutched something different over his chest, something familiar. 

Dr. Hammond smiled at Yang when the nurse had excused herself. He opened his arms and presented to her Yang’s messenger bag, torn and dirty, but still intact. The doctor approached her slowly, carefully setting her bag down on the vacant space on her bed between the two of them. 

“Ms. Xiao Long.” his voice was squeaky, but otherwise gentle, almost harmless. Yang looked at him warily, eyeing the doctor and her own bag. He shook his head, wiped the panic from his face and adopted a calming smile. “Y-your bag. Your driver’s license is inside, along with some of the other things that the police could gather from your car.”

Yang licked her lips. She tentatively reached into her bag, ignoring the pain that shot up her arm as she felt around the cold contents. Dr. Hammond seemed uncomfortable, protests on his lips. He seemed like an anxious person, a caricature of a germophobe who may or may not have grown up inside a large bubble. 

“Let me help.” he murmured, slipping his hand into Yang’s bag as soon as she retracted her own, “Sorry. I... uh... guess you’re looking for your Scroll. The police managed to find it underneath the passenger’s seat, but I’m afraid the device is broken.” 

Yang frowned up at him. She watched as he pulled her Scroll from her own bag, presenting it to her in all its cr acked glory. Dr. Hammond had tried to turn the device on, explaining how the medical staff had tried to see if it could still be used, how someone had even stored it in a box filled with rice, but it was unresponsive and Yang sighed as she held the paperweight in her hand. 

Dr. Hammond repeated her injuries to her as he presented Yang the meager contents of her bag: her useless Scroll, her driver’s licenses, apartment keys, her cracked sunglasses, a red carabiner, her wallet with a couple of bills and the countless receipts she had tucked in it. She impatiently tried to nod with each mention of her injuries, throat too dry to tell him that she had already heard it all from the nurse who had just left. 

A silence fell between the two of them, something she didn’t notice until Dr. Hammond set her bag aside. He waited for her to turn her attention to him, wiping his palms over his jeans and flattening his hair against his scalp. 

“Ms. Xiao Long, is  th —” 

“What day is it?” Yang managed to croak out, wondering how the sky from her window had only gotten darker. 

“I... I’m... what?”

Yang turned to him, “What day... is it? What time?” 

Dr. Hammond looked out the window then nervously checked his watch, “Saturday, half-past s even .” 

_ Saturday?  _

_ “ _ Ms. Xiao Long?” Dr. Hammond continued, “Is there anyone that we could contact for you?” 

Yang gaped at him for a moment. Today was Saturday. She had been here since Thursday night. She thought of Ruby, how she had been at the bus terminal two whole days ago. Yang bit her lip. Two whole days. Ruby was long gone and Yang couldn’t even get up. 

“We called your school yesterday.” the doctor cleared his throat and rubbed his palms together, “We asked for an emergency contact that we could call to inform them of what happened.” 

Two whole days. 

“Beacon gave us a contact number, under a Mr. Taiyang Xiao Long, but no one was answering.” 

_ Taiyang Xiao Long.  _

Yang couldn’t help but think of his funeral then. Their guests were quiet, paying their respects, exchanging lighthearted jokes and tall tales about a man the world had deemed a martyr. Her father. He had a stubble most of the time and the man barely knew how to comb his hair. 

“He died.” Yang whispered, remembering how her father stood in front of the mirror one morning, a grin on his face as the two of them spread shaving cream over their chins. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Dr. Hammond coughed. 

“Me too.” 

They were quiet once more. Yang could feel the discomfort and the pity in the air, but she was grateful that the strange doctor spared her any of his sympathies. She had never known what to do with them and she felt sleepy again, far too exhausted to even try. 

Before they bid their goodbyes, Yang had asked the doctor to call her apartment instead, supplying him with an address, Mr.  Dormitorio’s and Pyrrha’s names. 

Yang waited ten minutes after the doctor had left. She stared up at the ceiling once more, the sky getting darker and darker in the corner of her eye. She tried to remember the day of the accident, tried to remember Ruby’s call, but her dreams had kept invading her thoughts. 

When she had felt that no one would bother her tonight, or at least for the next hour or two, Yang tried to feel her injuries, pushed her own body until the pain would send her flopping back down on her bed. 

No sister, no car, no Scroll, no scholarship and the medical bill that would indenture her for the rest of her life, Yang sighed. The pain in her chest was excruciating, hot and heavy, spreading up to her head, to the corners of her eyes. 

Yang reminded herself that she was alone, perhaps more alone than she had ever been in her entire life, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime ago, she felt like she was six again when the gravity of Raven’s departure dawned on her, like she was nine and Summer’s health began to decline, like she was almost eleven and hiding in the attic with an inconsolable Ruby Rose, like she was thirteen and a schoolmate had said nobody wanted her, like she was eighteen again and driving to the home of a mother who wanted nothing to do with her. 

For the first time, Yang didn’t fight the tears. 


	25. All Up in the Gut

It was morning. 

She grumbled to herself as she pushed off of the bed, eager to take on the rays of sunshine that dared to wake her. It had been too long since she had a good night’s sleep. Blake Belladonna was desperate to get right back to it if not for the dip in the mattress and the hand that gently grabbed her by the shoulder. 

“Get up or else I’m going without you.” 

It felt odd to be in her current position. Blake looked up at the worried Coco Adel, bent over her, waiting for her to wake up. Stranger still, Coco, who had continuously made fun of Blake’s punctuality, was already dressed and ready to go. 

“If you’re having second thoughts, that’s fine too.” her friend continued, sliding off of the bed as she went to completely open the curtains, “We don’t have to go. Fuck. We  ** shouldn’t  ** go.” 

With that, Coco pulled the curtains back closed and the room suddenly darkened. Blake was grateful for the shade, straightening herself and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. 

“We shouldn’t go.” Blake confirmed, clearing her throat and frowning at Coco, “ ** I  ** was asked to go, not you.” 

Coco scoffed, standing over her with that defiant grin of hers that could probably stop an  Ursa on its tracks, “He called  ** me.  ** Not you.” 

“Because he doesn’t have my number!” Blake got off from the bed, searching the floor for her jeans and overnight bag, “He asked for me. You handed your Scroll and he told  ** me  ** to go to the Lambda House to make some sort of deal.” 

“Maybe in another life, I’ll let you handle this one alone.” 

“This really isn’t your problem, Coco.” 

Her heart stopped the moment Coco yanked her bag out of her hands. Blake looked at her host just as she had thrust Blake’s belongings across the room, landing by the doorway with a clatter. Blake squared her shoulders, head aching as she glared at Coco. Seven-thirty on a Sunday morning was too early to be picking a fight with Coco Adel. 

“Who the fuck  do you think I am?” Coco said through gritted teeth. 

Rhetorical question. 

“Coco, I need you to stay here.” Blake sighed. She finally registered the absence of her pants and the desire to brush her teeth. 

“No, nope, nope.” Coco held a hand up to her face, “You don’t tell me what to do, Blake.” 

“Coco, j—” 

“I am your friend.” her voice wasn’t as loud as earlier, but the intensity was there, coupled with the somberness of her gaze, “I know I haven’t been the best one these last few months and I honestly have no idea how people survive with their secrets. It’s messy. It’s scary. But I’m here now, a thousand times more than I have ever been.” 

“Coco...” Blake groaned. 

“It’s not just the guilt, Blake.” her voice cracked, “Yeah, the guilt’s there, asking me again and again why I never noticed – no, why I  ** did  ** notice, but pretended like nothing was wrong... And I am so proud of you and I am in motherfucking awe of you for what you’re doing, but please, just try to understand that we – your friends – are scared shitless and letting you walk through the devil’s house on your own?” 

Coco didn’t continue. She really didn’t need to anyway. Blake understood. 

She deflated at that. She felt strange, ashamed to even look at Coco in the eyes. A part of her didn’t want to see the great Coco Adel admitting to being scared. Coco who had always been their fearless somewhat-leader, bitchy, snarky and a little reckless. 

But was that so bad? After all, Blake had always been the quiet, brooding member of their group who didn’t care much about everyone else. But just a minute ago, she had told Coco to stay, believing that their trip to the Chi Rho Delta Lambda House wasn’t safe for her friend. 

Blake chewed on her bottom lip. Catching up on sleep was probably the smartest thing to do that her fear and pride had made her overlook. The truth of it all was that there wasn’t just  _ one  _ concrete truth. There were thousands of lies that swirled around in her life alone, imagine the lies the entire world had between the billions of inhabitants in it. 

Two truths rang in her head, taking in the questioning look in Coco’s eyes. 

First, people could be a multitude of things all rolled into one hot mess, trying to do their best. Coco Adel was still the fearless, bitchy, reckless and snarky leader, and at the same time, she was also the most caring and worrisome person Blake had ever met... and they both knew Velvet. 

Second, words that had meant so little to her when she was younger, nose stuck in a book and a pre-pubescent mind that craved for knowledge that she pretended to understand: no man is an island. Archipelagos exist though, but people learned to swim, build boats and bridges. Then there was Pangaea. 

Still worrying about Coco’s safety, Blake sighed and fixed her with a look that oozed finality, “This isn’t going to be a walk in the park.”

“Duh.” Coco rolled her eyes and smirked at her, “I’ve been going at this for almost a week now. The daily surprises still seem like a bitch slap sometimes, but there is no way in hell I’m going to sit by and not slap back. It could have been me, Blake... and it had been you. I won’t let it happen again. Not if I can help it.” 

There was a warmth in Blake’s chest at that, like a soft flame that set her tired bones at ease.  It lasted from the moment Coco had walked out of her bedroom to give Blake some semblance of privacy, all throughout the heated quiet of their car ride to Beacon University, right until the two of them stood in front of the Chi Rho Delta Lambda Fraternity door. 

_ This is a bad idea.  _

Only now did Blake realize that there was not a single iota of  ** good  ** with the entire thing; now that she found herself waiting for the door to open. 

The very thought of what brought them here in the first place made Blake’s blood run cold, her head pounding with rage. Neptune  Vasilias , slimy, treacherous, conniving and all of the names that had been thrown at him, had called Coco late last night, nervous and angry, asking how he could possibly contact Blake, or if maybe Coco could deliver a message from him. 

It Jaune hadn’t chased him out of the Broken Blade that afternoon, Blake would have directed the last of her energy onto a closed fist that she would have sent hurtling towards his face. 

In hindsight, Blake was glad for Jaune’s intervention – not quite his disappointment over his  _ friend’s  _ betrayal – and for carefully leading her back to a state of mind that didn’t require physical strength. Blake was a  sulker , not a fighter. 

There were still traces of her rage when Coco had informed her that Neptune wanted to talk to her. It was never a secret that the two of them loathed each other. If she had always had a say in the matter, she would have ignored him entirely. But that night, she had taken his call, bit her tongue as she listened. 

She was to go to the Lambda House. No, it wasn’t a trap. Adam knew about the memory card in Blake’s possession and that he was willing to strike a deal,  _ come to an agreement.  _ Bribe her, was more like it. 

_ This doesn’t have to go any further and the nightmare would stop.  _

Blake and Coco were ushered into the building, walking towards a room at the end of a hall as they followed a disgruntled Dove. He was quick to vocalize his anger at Blake, calling her out for giving him a fake number in hushed, angry tones.

What was once a crowded room was home to no more than ten young men, all staring at them as they passed. The House even looked somewhat cleaner and a little inviting. There was no sight of bottles of alcohol and the carpet in their common room looked as if it had been blessed with a quick vacuum. There were still vomit stains though and uneven patches where the boys must have used bleach to try and give it that  brand-new look. 

Their breaths caught in their throats when Dove opened the door for them, into what looked like a  well-furnished office. It was a large room, no doubt, but it was cramped with a large mahogany table, a leatherback office chair and two burgundy armchairs. There  were book shelves along the walls with mint-condition books. There were display cases with polished medals and trophies. Small picture frames of charming young men in suits and ties that lined up on the wall above the door. 

Blake felt like she knew this room a little too well. After that debacle with Neptune, she gathered the two memory cards, apologizing to Jaune about what happened. She had promised to call him if she had found something that could help him and the other Lambda boys. After she left, she went straight to Coco’s, asking the girl to review the videos for her – particularly video one-hundred-and-sixty-three. 

She and Coco had watched the videos about several times since Friday afternoon, almost memorizing Adam’s office from Cinder’s footage. But to see the Fraternity chancellor’s office in person felt surreal. It did nothing to calm her nerves or answer any of the questions that ran a mile a minute in the back of her mind. There were more pressing and confusing things at hand. 

It was seated right in front of them. 

Instead of the tall young man Blake had seen in her nightmares, she and Coco were greeted by an older man with cropped gray hair and a thick mustache. He stood to attention, back ramrod straight as he raised a hand, gesturing for them to take a seat. He looked somewhat familiar himself, but almost entirely different. 

There was no doubt that Adam had inherited his  _ charm  _ from his father. 

“Arthur Taurus.” he introduced himself. 

The two girls remained standing, in between the exit and the man who had gotten the rat named Neptune to call for them to meet. He had promised a truce after all, a means to end this  _ nightmare,  _ as he had so aptly put it without being particularly aware of it. 

“Would you girls like anything?” Mr. Taurus said as he sat himself down on the plush leather chair, completely unfazed by the rejection of his kindness. 

“What did you want to meet us for?” Coco shifted her weight to one foot, fixing him an impatient glare. 

Mr. Taurus shook his head, “I won’t take up much of your time and I guess we could just go straight to the issue at hand. I bet you girls have more pressing things to attend to as well.” 

“You mentioned a deal.” 

Blake was irked at the way Coco took charge of the situation, but she had to admit that she was thankful for it. She bit her tongue and remembered their conversation from this morning: Blake didn’t need to go through this alone anymore. 

Coco’s words had calmed her a little, but the fear was still there. 

Mr. Taurus steepled his fingers and studied them. He kept his eyes on Blake longer as he continued his spiel, “My son had informed me that something had been stolen from  **_ this  _ ** office recently. A memory card for some sort of device? I’m not quite sure. I’m guessing it’s one of those things you kids use these days.” 

_ Bullshit.  _

Blake did her best not to roll her eyes. Arthur Taurus was some kind of lawyer she never bothered to find out and it was common knowledge that the  Tauruses were filthy stinking rich. A man of his age and prominence would definitely know what a measly memory card was, what it was for and what to use it with. 

She had a sinking feeling that Neptune had been quick to inform them of the memory card’s contents. It must have been a brilliant idea, to come up with a decoy memory card that would have definitely thrown them off course.  The one that the two boys had traded that afternoon at The Broken Blade was heavily encrypted, inaccessible and quite possibly useless. 

Neptune’s calm demeanor made a lot more sense the more that Blake thought about it and she relished how shaken he had been when he had seen the memory card she had been holding on to. Still, she wished he never knew it existed. It was probably their only weapon. 

“Have you asked any of the other fraternity members?” Blake finally contributed, “Petty theft of something that  _ small  _ seems like an inside job. It’s not as if the House is open to the public outside of the regular parties and even then, a memory card is less valuable than a bag of chips or a half-empty bottle of whiskey.” 

Arthur was quiet. His moustache twitched and his eyes narrowed as he leaned back into his seat. Blake could only assume that he was gritting his teeth from the way he worked his jaw, studying them with cold, calculating eyes that felt like hot iron pokers against their skins. 

It dawned on Blake that there was  ** some  ** truth to Arthur’s idea. She remembered how close Adam and Yang had been for a couple of days.  It infuriated Blake how Yang had screamed praises for Adam then, how suddenly  ** she  ** was vilified for  ** his  ** lies and how Yang had easily believed them. 

Something must have happened. It was evident in the forlorn look in Yang’s eyes at  Noola’s when Blake had tried to talk to her. Adam must have hurt her. He must have driven Yang to steal the memory card and to watch it and to hand it over to Blake. 

It didn’t make sense, no. There was even the slight possibility that Adam must have given Yang the memory card instead. Worse still, that the piece of plastic was a fake. 

Blake felt her stomach turn. She wanted to leave. 

“You girls wanted direct, I’ll give you direct.” Arthur rose to his feet and stared them down, “I know about your digging around our family’s business. There are people poking about, asking  _ questions  _ here and there about things that is of no concern to the current situation.” 

Blake frowned. Mr. Taurus was diverting from the topic. She desperately wanted to steer their conversation back to the memory card and the deal that they were supposed to be making. But this? What  **_ things  _ ** was he even referring to? 

She turned to Coco for assurance, but found that her friend looked dead ahead at their host, a small, defiant smile on the corner of her lips. 

“I’m going to be frank.” he continued, his voice a little less hostile, “There are consequences to the things that you’re doing. You’re putting your lives, your futures on the line for what? To get my son kicked out of Beacon?” 

_ Yes. _

Blake wanted to nod, to cheer, but she stood still instead. Watching. Waiting. She knew Adam. He would be quick to lay his hands on her by now. His father, on the other hand, he seemed far more sinister and capable of doing much worse things without even moving an inch. 

"So, fine." Arthur scoffed, lowering himself down to his seat once more, “Adam will be removed from this institution first thing tomorrow morning. He will no longer be the fraternity chancellor, but know this... I will no longer support a  _ prestigious  _ university that wrongly accuses my son of whatever ridiculous claims you may throw at him.” 

Blake rolled her eyes at that, but there was no mistaking the swell of pride that bloomed in her chest. She eyed Arthur Taurus carefully. It was scary how closely her resembled his son and how different the two of them truly were. Her stomach twisted in horror panic as soon as the older man laughed. 

“I don’t suppose you ladies know what happens next?” he cleared his throat and straightened his tie, “Will you celebrate the unjust accusation of my son? You’ll be taking away his future, compromising his name, tarnishing our family.”

Blake bit her tongue and tamped her premature victory celebration down. Whatever difference she saw between the father and the son were blurred. Apparently, Adam and Arthur were two peas of the same rotten pod, entitled people who see nothing wrong with what they’re doing. 

She hoped that maybe Arthur would have realized that his son had bent rules to his favor – hell, even broke the law and all that had been documented, stored inside the memory card in her possession and deep in the dark recesses of both her own and Cinder's memories. But the man seemed to believe that his son had only inconvenienced other people and that sort of belief sent a chill down Blake's spine. 

_ He must know.  _

Arthur leaned forward, his weight on his elbows as he glowered at the two women, “Did it occur to you, ladies, that, with the exit of the Taurus family from Beacon, you will also be costing, around, twelve other students their scholarships? You have heard of the Arthur Taurus Scholarship Program, I presume?”

There was no joy nor disappointment in his eyes, only pure malice. Beside her, Coco took a threatening step forward, shoulders squared and fists tight on her sides. Blake could only pray that her friend wouldn’t do something rash, even if every muscle in her body ached for her to take a swing and wipe the complacent gleam in Arthur Taurus' eyes. 

“I’m going to be frank.” He cleared his throat, his eyes ready to burn them on the spot, “Who’s going to believe you?”

“Excuse me?” Coco practically spat. 

“A bunch of decent young men, down on their lucks and working hard for a better future.” Mr. Taurus ignored them, “And you’re putting their lives at risk for something so small, so insignificant that it took you, how long, to report it?”

Blake could feel her fury rising to her head. She was ready to explode any moment now. Screw logic and justice and fairness. She wanted to fling herself towards Arthur Taurus and wring his neck until his lungs gave out and there was nothing left of him but a husk of a man who sold his soul to the devil.

“You haven’t reported it yet, have you?” Arthur Taurus smirked, “Why now, ladies? Adam has informed me of the argument that—”

“Argument?” Blake felt like she was beginning to lose her mind. 

“– I am aware that it turned violent and bloody –” 

“He almost killed his girlfriend.” 

“– Cinder had always been quick to irritate Adam –” 

“He almost killed me!” 

“– This happened a long time ago. Adam is –” 

“Blake, stop.” Coco murmured as she gently wrapped her fingers around Blake’s bicep, “He’s not worth it.” 

“– a changed man and you won’t even give –”

“He’s the same slimy prick he was the moment he laid his hands on me.” Blake could feel the tears now, flowing freely from the corners of her eyes to the floor that she hoped would swallow the  Tauruses whole, “Your son is a psychopath, a spoiled asshole who has no problems hurting whoever denies him of what he wants.” 

“– him a chance to show how much he’s –”

Blake didn’t want to hear anything more. 

She wrestled her way out of Coco’s grasp, gently pushing the girl aside as she firmly planted herself in front of a surprised and scandalized Arthur Taurus. 

Blake was not going to stoop to their level.  ** Dust.  ** The very sight of this decrepit sleazebag made her sick. She didn’t care if she looked like a madwoman now, teeth bared as if ready to gnash his face off, ready to pounce the instant he made one tiny wrong move. She had lied to herself since that fateful night, pretending that it never happened, that it might never happen again, but Adam Taurus had stood outside of her apartment door and kissed her like he owned her. 

“Your son is a criminal, Mr. Taurus.” Blake forced the words out through gritted teeth, the pressure against her jaw the only thing keeping her from trying to claw the man, “Whether you see it or you choose not to, we are going to make sure the rest of Remnant knows just how irredeemable that snake is.” 

“Alright.” Coco pulled her away from the desk and held Blake within her arms, “That’s enough. We’ve got better things to do than convene with dumbasses.” 

Arthur Taurus rose to his feet. Blake and Coco took half a step backwards, arms ready to shield themselves from an incoming attack. They angled their bodies facing the door, as if they would bolt the  moment they sensed danger. But the man only stuck his chin high, glaring at them with his nose up, as if he was impervious, as if there was  nothing they could do to hurt him. 

“You can go to the police all you want, ladies.” he said calmly, but there was a certain bite in the gruffness of his voice, “I know about the videos that you have in your possession, although truth be told, I have no idea that it even existed, but it’s such a shame how this generation would paint a menacing picture over my son. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you made it all up yourself, seeing how you’re so desperate for attention.” 

Before Blake could even come up with her own retort, one that she had wanted to wipe that smug smile off of the man’s mustachioed face, Coco had practically dragged her out of the room, bidding their half-hearted goodbyes to Mr. Arthur Taurus. 

Blake could only revel in the way his smile turned into a frown, troubled and deeply unsettled as he waited for the door to close behind Blake and Coco. 

The  Tauruses were afraid. Despite their talks of peace and reasoning, Adam and Arthur Taurus were afraid of  ** her ** , of what she could do with the memory card. After watching the entire cluster of video clips last night, Blake had known that Cinder’s delusional documentation of Blake’s presence and her twisted relationship with Adam would be enough to crumble his defenses. 

Arthur Taurus trying to bargain for his son’s goodwill and future was just the seal on the wax – signed, sealed and ready to be delivered to the police. 

They were grateful that none of the few Lambda boys they had passed approached them. The boys merely acknowledged their presence and disheveled exit with confused looks and dirty stares. Blake could only feel her heart growing heavy with each boy they had passed on their way back to Coco’s car. 

Arthur Taurus was right. No doubt the man would immediately stop financially supporting the Lambda Fraternity once Adam’s out of sight – whether he keeps his word of Adam’s expulsion or not – which would leave the rest of the boys at the mercy of the school board and what remained of their benefactors... and upon checking yesterday with Coco’s cousin, they had none. 

The Taurus Family’s fortune was the last thing that was keeping the entire fraternity afloat. Whether or not these twelve boys were deserving of such kindness or not, it felt wrong to take away something that had been intended to help them in their studies. Blake couldn’t judge them, not knowing who they were, and she was definitely not in the position to say that their misfortune would be a blessing. 

Blake’s Scroll kept ringing, but with Coco’s arms tightly wrapped around her limbs, she could only let it ring. The moment that Coco had demanded she sit herself down in the passenger’s seat, the call had stopped and the two girls were left to listen to the sound of a lawnmower roaring somewhere on campus, a car chugging somewhere in the distance and their hearts hammering in their chests and echoing to their eardrums. 

With shaking hands and the last of her sudden fury, Blake pulled the driver’s door open as one hand reached into her pocket to look at her Scroll. Jaune had called her. Before Blake could even buckle her seatbelt, her Scroll vibrated in her hands and it took a split-second for her to press the device to hear, forcing her anger out of her voice as she greeted him a good morning. 

“Hi, Blake.” Jaune sounded out of breath, “It’s Jaune.” 

Blake paused. She had no time to confirm that she already knew who he was, to point out that she had saved his number on her Scroll a couple days ago. 

Gratefully, he continued after a desperate gulp of air, “So, remember the encrypted files in the other memory card last time?” 

“Yeah.” she forced herself to say, eyeing Coco as her friend stared down at her own Scroll, “Why?” 

“Well, have you cracked it open, yet?” 

“No,” Blake sighed and exchanged a tired glance with Coco, “my friend’s busy with other things at the moment. I’m afraid that has to wait. Besides, the videos seemed good enough to rattle Arthur Taurus himself. It could be enough to convince the school board to kick him out.” 

She quickly shut her mouth. Jaune may or may not be one of the  _ Arthur Taurus Scholarship Program  _ scholars, but Blake had a feeling that he might have a couple of friends who were. Dust. Blake knew that Sun was a part of that program, repeatedly telling her of his need to please  _ higher management  _ to keep him in Beacon during one of their pretend-dates. 

“Well, I could take care of that for you.” Jaune said casually, “There has got to be a reason why Neptune had gone to extreme lengths to hand it over to us, so I was  thi —” 

Blake cut him off with an exasperated sigh, “Neptune’s a manipulative liar and a creep, Jaune. The memory card’s probably just corrupted or infected with malware or whatever.” 

“But we don’t have much of a choice.” Jaune pleaded, “Listen, Tina may be able to decrypt? Or encrypt? Whatever. She could unlock the files and we can take a peek at them because of some computer science thing I really didn’t want to listen to.”

“Jaune.”

“It’ll be out of your hands. No stone unturned, Blake. One quick look and then if it’s useless, we’ll forget about it and if it’s a treasure trove, then... jackpot?” 

With the silence that hung heavy over the line and the impatience that was beginning to set over Coco’s face, Blake had agreed, promising to hand over the memory card at the end of the day. Of course, the two of them could always head straight for The Broken Blade. That was where Jaune would most likely be anyway and the memory card was tucked inside of Blake’s wallet. 

But when Coco had asked her to pull over in front of a shawarma shop, Blake could only oblige. It was the least she could do for all of the things that Coco had done for her: a place to stay, the meals she politely declined and the company she was reluctant to accept. Hell, there was even the clearly illegal thing that her cousin had been doing. 

Coco’s eyes were glued to her Scroll as they waited in line, fingers tapping away and a scowl hidden behind her sunglasses. Blake, on the other hand, tried to at least pick something that she could muster eating. Coco had asked her to be here for a reason, maybe two; one of them was to feed her. 

They sat themselves at a corner, a couple of tables from the chatty girl and her disinterested boyfriend. Coco had been silent the entire time now, just tapping away at her Scroll. 

And Blake couldn’t help but feel suspicious. The last two weeks have been rife with lies and secrets. Two days ago, she discovered that Neptune had been spying on Yang, had been spying on her too. She figured that was how Adam seemed to know where she was. 

She nibbled on her shawarma as she thought back to the Lambda party, Adam’s sudden arrival had been premature, despite the knowledge that Blake shouldn’t even have been there. Neptune and Sun were in the kitchen that night and there was that slim possibility that Neptune’s dirty looks served only as a distraction for when he called his master back. 

He seemed like the perfect protector then and Yang practically gobbled it all up. 

After another forced bite out of her food, Blake slipped her Scroll out of her pocket and stared down at her screen. No messages, no notifications, no calls. She really ought to call Yang, at least. To thank her, maybe? 

Things between them were... strange. It wasn’t as stifling as it had been before shit hit the fan and it definitely wasn’t as warm as the  far and few  intimate moments they shared. There was tension between them and a silence that stretched on and on and on and... 

S he was no closer to Yang than she had ever been. Perhaps, she was even farther than before. The more Blake dove deep into herself, the less certain she was of who Yang Xiao Long was and it wasn’t difficult to see that Yang probably wasn’t so sure herself. 

“People usually eat all of their shawarma, Blake.” Coco smiled at her before her expression softened into a frown, “You’re probably stressed or worried and Arthur fucking Taurus is just as shitty as his son, but... we’ll get them, Blake.” 

Coco’s hand was warm over hers and despite the sadness and hopelessness that seemed to weigh heavily on her friend’s face, there was that smile, defiant and feisty. Blake could only hope that she returned the same smile before she took another bite of her shawarma, glancing down at her Scroll. 

She should  still  call  Yang . 

They weren’t strangers. They weren’t exactly friends and when Blake was too exhausted and too hungry to even  _ consider  _ propriety, she thought of Yang. She thought of Yang wrapped around her. She thought of Yang sitting with her. She thought of Yang just looking at her. She thought of Yang’s breath against her cheek. 

“I was just talking with my cousin.” Coco said, unaware of Blake’s plans to call her blonde enigma, “It would seem that the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree when it comes to the  Tauruses .”

Curiosity genuinely piqued, Blake decided that she would have to call Yang later, opting to lean closer towards Coco as she visibly ate more of her food. 

“The family dabbles in shady business.” Coco continued, “Embezzlement, fraud, even good old corporate espionage, but Arthur Taurus is a ruthless lawyer and has wrestled competitors and whistleblowers in the courtroom.” 

“What does that have to do with us?” Blake blanched, “It sounds as if whatever case we’re trying to build here is going to get swept under the rug.” 

Coco shrugged, “I figured, we could still take them on. There’s the aggravated assault with you and Cinder, then there’s blackmail with some of the Lambda boys. Neptune’s a dick, but he was obviously blackmailed. And then there’s corporate espionage.” 

“First of all, aggravated assault? He almost killed Cinder.”

“He might not have intended to do that, but it was clear that he beat her and we’ve got video proof.” 

“It’s dark and grainy.” Blake murmured. 

“Whatever, it’s proof.” 

“So, what’s this corporate espionage thing? And how does that help us? It sounds totally unrelated.” 

“It is.” Coco smirked. 

“Then why bring it up then?” 

“Ever heard of the Schnee Dust Company?” 

Blake quirked her brow. Of course, almost everyone in all of Remnant knew of the Schnee Dust Company, an  Atlesian industrial corporation that branched out from simple household products to a conglomerate of utilities, industrial manufacturing, chemical trade and even pharmaceuticals and robotics. It was no secret then that the corporation expanded into financing, real estate and communications. 

“Well, the  Schnees have been trying to extend their grubby hands throughout Remnant, setting up factories and offices in Mistral, buying out airlines and shipping companies in  Kuchinashi and Argus and buying out banks in Vacuo.” 

“I get it.” Blake sighed, “The  Schnees are rich.” 

“But you ever notice how they have nothing here in Vale? Maybe a little in Anima, but not Vale, not in  Vytal . Where Schnee is a household name in foreign places, they’re practically an imaginary brand here.” 

That was not entirely strange. There were different brands or products or companies that weren’t in Vale, even thousands that Blake might not even know about. The Schnee Dust Company wasn’t a run-of-the-mill brand, true, but their absence in Vale was not a major issue. 

_ Unless...  _

It dawned on Blake then. Corporate espionage and the absence of a company that practically owned half of Remnant in Vale. Coco noticed the realization in Blake’s eyes and the girl was smug as she gently pushed the shawarma to Blake’s lips. 

“Taurus-Watts LLC controls real estate, financing and banking in Vale.” Coco added softly, “Whatever business venture that the  Schnees wanted to establish here in Anima, the Twats take over. They buyout the offers and bids or whatever, completely barring SDC.”

“I still don’t understand how that’s helpful to us.” 

“Like I said, corporate espionage.” Coco shook her head, “The  Schnees are filthy, stinking rich and taking Adam Taurus to court is going to take a small fortune and a lot of protection. Technically speaking, we  ** are  ** small fry, even the Lambda boys. We need to attack them from all directions because Arthur Taurus is a shark, he can handle major problems, but not when it happens all at once.” 

That was a bold plan, remarkable and quite ambitious. Blake couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities, the probability of the press being involved and for the Taurus family to be exposed. She recalled many of the news stories she had seen, of people who had cheated the system being dragged, their dirty laundries hung out to dry and the truth finally being revealed. 

She should have been thrilled, but she felt nothing. 

Whatever professional disagreement occurred between the Taurus family and the  Schnees seemed like an entirely different and distant story. Corporate debacles between two well-known and opulent families, the story of the decade. 

A story of a young woman beaten by a model student she rejected? It was a tale as old as time and she was beginning to wonder if that plot would ever get rehashed or if there was even an ending to it. 

She kept her last strands of hope from ebbing away, taking one big bite out of her shawarma as she fixed Coco a questioning gaze, “That’s... great... but didn’t you just say that the Schnee Corporation can’t come to Vale?” 

Blake had no words for the look of utter pride in Coco’s face. Her friend leaned back a little, gently swiping the last of Blake’s shawarma and taking one generous bite out of it. If Coco hadn’t even tried to give it back to her, she would have immediately forgotten it existed. She frowned at the remnants of her food as Coco wiped the smeared sauce from the corners of her lips. 

“The  Tauruses aren’t the only ones who know how to be sneaky.” she said gleefully, “The  Schnees sent one of their kids here. Weiss Schnee, youngest daughter, middle child. In Beacon. What are the odds of that?” 

Blake felt a little bit better because, truly, what were the odds of this big dramatic family feud coming this close to her. 

Coco practically inhaled the rest of Blake’s shawarma after she had hinted that they should leave. She reminded Coco that she had promised Jaune she would hand over the other memory card they couldn’t open. Coco, not so subtly, suggested they visit Velvet afterwards. Her apartment wasn’t far from 359 Springs Street and Blake admitted to herself that she did miss seeing her friend. 

She hadn’t stopped by to pick her  friend up from  Noola’s Pet Wares and Groomers for what felt like years. If anyone were to ask it was because she was busy. Blake had places to be now, things to do and houses to break into. There simply was no time to even take a leisure trip to their dangerous hideout anyway. 

Blake was thankful that nobody had tried to question if she had been avoiding Yang. She was. She wouldn’t deny it. But she found that she couldn’t quite find the same courage to admit that she wanted nothing more than to find the girl, to talk more. 

Dust. How many times have they probably promised to talk more with each other? How many times had Blake told herself that she should try to explain everything to Yang? 

And they never do. 

When she and Coco had handed Jaune and an indifferent Tina the memory card, Blake thought about asking him if he had heard from Yang. Maybe if she could convince him to shoehorn her into his next conversation with Yang. But she thought better of it, bid them good luck and goodbye before she and Coco drove straight to Velvet’s place. 

There was a certain sense of safety that washed over Blake as soon as the car turned onto the street where Velvet lived. There were dozens of people walking down the street; friends, couples, families, all in hand in hand for a normal Sunday afternoon after the storm passed. 

Blake chewed at her lower lip, hands gripping tight on her steering wheel as guilt started blooming in her chest. She hadn’t called her parents in almost a month now. They had always been respectful of her privacy and need for space, but an entire month? It didn’t help that their last calls have been succinct and clipped. 

_ How’s school going?  _ **_ Busy, hectic.  _ **

_ Will you be coming home for the holidays?  _ **_ Yes. Will try to finish some coursework so I can stay all throughout New Year’s. _ **

_ Will you be bringing anyone over?  _ **_ No. I have to go.  _ **

_ Bye, kitten. Love you.  _ **_ Love you too.  _ **

She cast a sideways glance at Coco beside her. Blake wondered if Coco spoke to her parents regularly, wondered if she even called them. She drove slowly as they approached Velvet’s building. Now, she wondered if Velvet was close with her family. 

She felt like a stranger to her own friends. 

She felt like a stranger to her own family. 

Blake sighed. Did her fear keep her from them? From her friends? From her family? She had kept herself far away from everybody in her life after all. She thought it had been selfless, to keep the trouble out of their way, but as she sat there, she realized that she didn’t even know who she was. Maybe it had come from not even talking about herself. Always reading from a script she had written herself. Succinct. Clipped. Cold. 

“Should we call her first?” Blake said as she parked a building short of Velvet’s. It had been the only vacant spot that she could see and it wasn’t too much of a walk to the front door. 

“Speak of the devil.” Coco quickly stepped out of the vehicle as they spotted Velvet rushing out of her apartment building, “Hey, Velvet, where you going?” 

Something was wrong. 

Blake could see it in the way Velvet’s brows knitted together, her hair still tucked into the back of her coat as if she had hurriedly put it on herself and ran out the door. The panic became clearer as she approached Blake’s car, panting and pale. Blake rolled down her window and stared up at her friend.

“Sorry, Blake, but I...” Velvet took a deep breath, bending over and leaning against Blake’s car, “I need a favor. Please, it’s urgent.” 

“What happened?” Coco intoned. 

“It’s Yang.” another deep breath, “I got a call from her friends and... Please, can you take me to the hospital?” 

Blake could feel her heart stop and her lungs give out. Did she hear that correctly? Maybe Yang was in the hospital visiting a friend? Maybe Yang’s friend who had called Velvet was in the hospital. But Velvet’s panic was strange and Blake could only look at her. 

“Hospital?” Blake repeated, her tongue suddenly too heavy. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the  danger that she felt was coming. Not towards her, but towards Yang. 

“Get in.” Coco practically ordered before sliding into the passenger’s seat. 

Blake had no intention of protesting, starting up her car to get Velvet to jump in the backseat. She had given Blake the address, reading it off of her Scroll and handing it over to Coco to confirm she had read it right. 

“I know the place.” Blake said calmly as she drove out of the friendly neighborhood. 

Blake was quiet as she drove a little over the speed limit, mind conjuring up the memories of when she had woken up at the hospital after that fateful night. Coco and Velvet spoke beside her, arguing, maybe? Blake didn’t want to know? 

She dreaded hospitals after that night. The smell of it. The white floors and the bright, blinding lights, the smell of alcohol and bleach and antiseptic. Blake did her best to keep the memories at bay, but it went beyond her stumbling back to her apartment, further from the moment she had woken up under the fluorescent bulb. She worked her jaw, remembering Adam’s foot against her stomach, Cinder pulling at her hair. 

_ Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.  _

Blake stepped on the accelerator after a quick turn. Coco and Velvet had stopped arguing at this point. Velvet, or was  it Coco, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She heard someone whisper  _ slow down,  _ but Blake didn’t budge. 

She thought of Cinder then, crying and bloody beside her. She thought the girl died next to her, in the middle of  Makeout Point, in the cover of darkness. 

She had thought of Yang that night too, her golden hair spread all over the grass like the rays of sunshine, the fading scent of everything that made her Yang. She thought of reaching over and feeling the warmth of her fade away with the last of her breath. 

_ Please be okay.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


End file.
